Yellow Swamp Brittlegill (Russula Claroflava) – Identification

Yellow Swamp Russula / Summer / Autumn / Edible

Scientific Name

Russula Claroflava


Family

Russulaceae


Habitat

Wet boggy ground in mixed woodland, particularly with birch.


Description

A bright yellow mushroom often shiny on the top that is found in very wet woodland. It is deemed on of the best eating Russula’s with a nutty flavour and a pepper bite simillar to that of rocket. 


Identifying Features for Yellow Swamp Brittlegill:


Cap:

Bright egg yellow and usually shiny. Very sticky to the touch.

This image was created by user Ron Pastorino (Ronpast) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here.English | español | français | italiano | македонски | മലയാളം | português | +/−, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Stem:

White and not tapering. Should snap like a piece of chalk.

Lebrac, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Gills:

Gills white and is attached to the stem. Crowded. Bruising grey. Brittle to the touch. Adnexed and sometimes free.

Free Gills

Adnexed gills

Adnexed Gill

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

Smell:

indistinctive Mushroom smell


Spores:

Ocher to cream


Uses

A good fleshy eating mushroom


In food

Good to eat with a slight peppery heat and nutty flavour.


Harvesting

found from July until November in boggy woodland .


Known hazards

Other Russulas.


Potential lookalikes

Russula ochroleuca, but this is edible, if a bit acrid, and has a duller yellow cap.
The Geranium Scented Russula (R.fellea) is grubbier yellow with a smell of geraniums and is incredibly hot when placed on the tongue.

Follow the four step Russula identification process:

-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.

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