Russula vesca

Russula vesca
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Homobasidiomycetae
Subclass:	Hymenomycetes
Order:	Russulales
Family:	Russulaceae
Genus:	Russula
Species:	R. vesca
Binomial name
Russula vesca Fr.

Russula vesca Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex or flat
	Hymenium is free
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is white
	Ecology is mycorrhizal
	Edibility is edible

Russula vesca, known by the common names of Bare-toothed russula or The Flirt, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Russula.

Taxonomy

Described, and named by the eminent Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries (1794-1878).

Description

The skin of the cap typically does not reach the margins (resulting in the common names). The cap is 5–10 cm wide,flat, convex, or with slightly depressed centre, weakly sticky, colour brownish to dark brick-red. Taste mild. Gills close apart, white. The stipe narrows toward the base, 2–7 cm long, 1.5–2.5 cm wide, white. It turns deep salmon when rubbed with iron salts (Ferrous sulfate). The spore print is white.

Distribution and habitat

Russula vesca appears in summer or autumn, and grows primarily in deciduous forests in Europe, and North America.

Edibility

Russula vesca is edible and good, with a mild nutty flavour. However, it is poisonous in the raw state, and as such must be cooked to release the toxins that are contained within the mushroom. This does not make it a poisonous fungus: it is treated in the same way as kidney beans are. On the other hand, in Russia it is considered entirely edible even in the raw state.

References

• "Danske storsvampe. Basidiesvampe" [a key to Danish basidiomycetes] J.H. Petersen and J. Vesterholt eds. Gyldendal. Viborg, Denmark, 1990. ISBN 87-01-09932-9