A blackening Russula: the dirty-white cap, crowded gills and stem slowly turn reddish and then black where handled or cut, and the whole fruitbody darkens with age. It is a European species; North American collections given this name may belong to several different species. Its edibility is disputed.
Not edible; possibly poisonous. Older guides listed it as edible, but First Nature calls it inedible and possibly slightly poisonous, and some collections are acrid. It belongs to the blackening Russulas, which include the deadly East Asian R. subnigricans (causes rhabdomyolysis). Do not eat blackening Russulas.
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Habitat
Ectomycorrhizal with conifers or hardwoods; in Europe mainly on acid soils in coniferous woods. Alone, scattered or in troops, summer and fall (over winter in warm climates).
Distribution
Europe from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and east into temperate Asia; infrequent in Britain and Ireland. Widely reported in North America, but this is a European name: First Nature says it is unclear whether North American records are the same species, and MushroomExpert suspects several distinct North American species are lumped under it.
Characteristics
Cap: 4-15 cm, convex with an inrolled margin, becoming depressed or funnel-shaped; slightly sticky; dirty white, soon gray-brown to blackish. Gills: attached to slightly decurrent, narrow, close to crowded, white to cream; bruise reddish then black. Stem: 1.5-9 cm long, 1-3.5 cm thick, white, darkening like the cap. Flesh: white, hard; slowly reddening then blackening over up to half an hour when cut. Odor: not distinctive. Taste: mild or slowly slightly to very acrid (First Nature says slightly bitter). Spore print: white. Spores: about 7-11 x 6-8.5 um, with warts forming a partial to nearly complete network (MushroomExpert; First Nature).
