Russula aeruginea

This is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.

Flesh without fibers, fracturing with the same sort of break as a piece of chalk
Spore and gill color limited to white, yellow, or ochre
Mycorrhizal: occuring only on the ground, and only when there are trees nearby
No ring or volva on stalk
All fleshy-stemmed mushrooms whose gills exude a latex when cut go here

No latex
Cap usually brighter colored than Lactarius
Stalk usually white or tinged with color of cap

Cap at least partially green or olive, with no purple coloration
Try yellowish olive-capped specimens here first, before trying Yellow or Brown Russula

cap cuticle entire

Russula aeruginea     Lindblad: Fries

Here are the characters that distinguish this species from the others in its group. For its more general characters, see higher up on the page.
If there's just a few words or a microscopic feature here, a more thorough description can be found above.

Diagnosis

• Cap up to 3 1/4" across; greyish olive green to yellowish green; peeling 1/2 of the way to the center; margin often sulcate (although not in the picture)
  
• Gills pale buff when mature; brittle; forking near stem
  
• Flesh light salmon with FeSO4
  
• Spore print light ochre

Microscropic Characters

• Spores 6-10 x 5-7µm, warts .1-.6 µm high, with ridges connecting a few of the warts.
  
• Pileocystidia cylindric-clavate to fusiform, some staining in sulfovanillin

 

 

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