About this fungus
Rosy Brittlegill is a fungus in the Russulaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A robust red or pink brittlegill with unusually hard, chalky flesh. The cap often looks dry or finely matt, and the stem may be white or flushed pink.
What to check
Check the firm brittle flesh, pale cream gills, a cap skin that peels very little, and the absence of a ring or volva. A pink stem flush supports the identification but is not always present. Colour alone cannot separate this species from other red Russula, so a secure name may require spores, microscopy and chemical reactions.
Variation
Caps range from deep red to rosy pink and can fade to cream in patches or at the centre. Some stems are distinctly carmine-pink while others remain white. These normal changes make cap and stem colour useful only as part of the whole character set.
Lookalikes
Beechwood Sickener, Russula nobilis, and other red brittlegills can look very similar. Tree partner, flesh firmness, cap surface, stem colour and microscopic characters should be considered together. A photograph of a red cap is not enough for a dependable species identification.
Habitat and range
Ectomycorrhizal mainly with broadleaved trees, especially beech in European accounts, though conifer associations are also reported. Names and lookalikes vary between regions, so records outside the core European concept deserve extra care.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
Gerhard Koller / CC BY-SA 3.0