Russula viridicinnamomea

What the species is

Russula viridicinnamomea is a mushroom of the brittlegill genus, Russula. The catalogue that supplies this record places it among the ectomycorrhizal forest fungi, which live in a partnership with tree roots and fruit on the ground in woodland.

The name in the record is a research label. The catalogue applies it without checking the name against a current taxonomic authority, so the species name and its boundaries should be treated as provisional.

The food-use record

The only food-use record for this species comes from a forest survey in Yunnan, China. The survey lists the species as edible. It does not record any market sale of the mushroom in that survey, so the record shows that people in the survey area recognised it as food, but not how widely it is eaten or sold.

No preparation method, quantity or cooking time is given in the record. This page does not supply them.

Identification and open questions

The catalogue keeps the regional identification as it was published. It has not been confirmed against current taxonomy, and the record says that contemporary taxonomy and local safety still need species-level review.

The open questions are whether the regional identification holds under current taxonomy, whether the mushroom is sold in Yunnan markets, and how it is prepared. Until a specialist has reviewed these points, the record supports only the statement that the survey listed the species as edible.

How to recognise a brittlegill

A mushroom is a brittlegill, a Russula, only when several features line up. The cap is usually brightly coloured. The gills are brittle: they snap when you try to bend them, and the flesh breaks cleanly like chalk instead of tearing into fibres. The stem carries no ring and no cup or sack at its base, and there are no veil remnants on the cap. The gills are attached to the stem, and a spore print is white, cream or dark yellow.

Two checks separate Russula from its look-alikes. Break a gill or cut the flesh: a brittlegill gives no milky juice, while a milkcap (Lactarius or Lactifluus) weeps latex. Then look at the stem. A ring on the stem, a cup or a sack or bulb with torn remnants at its base, or flesh that tears in fibres points away from Russula and towards Amanita, a genus that includes the deadly death cap and many other poisonous species. A mushroom with a ring or a cup at the base is not a Russula, whatever colour its cap is.

Recognising the genus is much easier than naming the species. Cap colour varies widely inside one species, so experts rely on the colour of the spore print, the taste, colour changes in the flesh, how far the cap skin peels, chemical tests and the microscope. A collector who is sure of the genus but not of the species should treat the species as unidentified.

The taste test, and what it cannot tell you

Foragers have long sorted brittlegills by taste. Break off a small piece of cap flesh or gill, chew it for several seconds and spit it out without swallowing; the burn of an acrid species can take half a minute to build. Brittlegills that taste mild are the traditional edibles. Those that taste hot, peppery or acrid, and many bitter ones, are left alone because they irritate the stomach and bowel and can cause vomiting and diarrhoea.

The method works only inside the genus. Use it once the mushroom is positively a Russula, never to decide whether an unknown mushroom is safe: the deadliest mushrooms do not taste unpleasant, and a mild taste says nothing about an Amanita, a Cortinarius or any other family. Within Russula it is a screen for rejecting species, not proof of safety. Some mild species are poor eating, rare species are poorly documented, and a few brittlegills have been linked with poisoning. Cook what you eat, start with a small portion, and identify to species where you can. This record is not a field guide.

Safety

Wild mushrooms can be confused with poisonous species, and a single survey record does not settle whether a specimen is safe to eat. Confirm any identification with an experienced local forager or a mycologist before eating a wild fungus. This page does not give an identification or an edibility verdict for the species.