Common Yellow Brittlegill (Russula ochroleuca) - Identification

Common Yellow Brittlegill/Summer/Autumn/Edible

Danny Steaven, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Leonhard Lenz, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Holger Krisp, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Scientific Name

Russula ochroleuca

Family

Russuleae

Habitat

This mushroom is found in mixed woodland

Description

The most common Russula in the UK, it has a yellow cap and is an excellent addition to the pot.

Identifying Features for Common Yellow Brittlegill:

Cap:

Yellow, light tan coloured. Starting convex, flattening with a depression in the middle.

Stem:

White becoming off white/ grey with age. Should snap a bit like chalk.

Gills:

Adnexed gills white/cream coloured, fairly crowded and brittle when handled.

Leonhard Lenz, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Smell:

This Fungi smells mushroomy

Spores:

White to cream

Uses

A great addition to mushroom dishes

In food

Great addition to any mushroom dish just make sure that you have had a nibble to ensure you haven’t got the Geranium Scented Brittlegill

Harvesting

Found between August late November

Known hazards

Other Russulas.

Potential lookalikes

Other Russulas. As long as the cap is yellow you are fairly safe with Russulas with one important exception, The Geranium Scented Russula, which is paler yellow, smells of geraniums and is poisonous. As long as you go through the four step Russula test then you should be okay –
-Snap – Does the stem snap like a piece of chalk?
-Flick – Do the gills break when you flick them gently?
-Peel – Does the skin on the cap peel away?
-Taste– this should only be done when you have gone through the other steps and are confident that you have a Russula. If a tiny amount placed on the tongue a chilli like burn or tingle means the mushroom is poisonous but a pleasant mushroomy taste means it is edible.