A parasitic ascomycete that coats the gills and stem of Russula mushrooms, especially red- and purple-capped species, with a powdery to crusty yellow-green layer. The coating darkens to olive or dark green as tiny embedded perithecia mature. The host usually stays recognizable, but its gills become shallow and lose their structure.
Not recommended. Edibility is questionable and largely unknown, and likely depends on the host; it can grow on peppery or emetic Russula species and sometimes on Lactarius (Colorado Mushrooms; Wikipedia).
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Parasitic on Russula fruit bodies, mainly red and purple species, sometimes on Lactarius; summer and fall, over winter in warm climates. In Colorado found in mixed Douglas-fir and aspen woods at about 9,000-10,000 ft.
Distribution
Widespread in Europe and North America (described from Sweden; collections from Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado); also reported from India and South Korea.
Characteristics
Growth form: a powdery to crusty, mold-like subiculum, bright yellow-green, darkening to olive or greenish brown, over the gills and upper stem and rarely the cap. Perithecia: embedded, dark green to black, barely visible. Chemical reaction: KOH blackens the surface quickly. Spores: 30-36 x 4.5-5.5 um, fusiform, becoming warty, with tapered apiculi, not septate. Asci: 150-200 x 5-7.5 um, cylindrical, 8-spored (MushroomExpert).
