Charcoal Burner

Habitat

Found on soil or among leaf litter in deciduous and coniferous forests. While it appears under hardwoods such as aspen and tanoak, it is most frequently associated with beech and oak. It prefers nutrient-rich, acidic locations and may grow singly, in clusters, or in trooping groups.

Photos

Appearance

Cap

5–15 cm wide; initially globose or convex, later flattening or developing a central depression. Color is highly variable, often a mottled mixture of lilac, purple, olive, green, and brown, though sometimes entirely green; surface is greasy when wet, occasionally showing fine radiating veins or a subtle cracked pattern with age.

Gills

White to pale cream and crowded; attached to slightly decurrent. Distinctly flexible and oily or greasy to the touch rather than brittle; frequently branching or forking.

Stem

5–12 cm long and 1.5–5 cm thick; sturdy and white, sometimes with a purple or rosy flush. The surface is smooth and the base may be slightly tapered or enlarged.

Flesh

White, firm, and thick; lacks a distinctive smell and has a mild, pleasant taste.

Spore print

White to whitish.

Edibility

The mild-to-sweet tasting flesh is exceptionally firm when young, though it can become mealy and insect-infested as it ages. Unlike most other Russula species, the gills are flexible and oily to the touch rather than brittle. It can be confused with various brittlegills, including the rare Russula langei, the oilslick brittlegill, and the false charcoal burner. Russula variata is a similar species with significantly more forking in the gills and a taste that can be slightly acrid when young.

Nutrient Source

This species forms a symbiotic relationship with trees, exchanging nutrients with the tree's roots in exchange for sugars.

Common Names

Basque

urritxa, urritza, urretxa, urrecha, urritx

Catalan

puagra llora, cualbra blanca, blavet

Danish

Broget skørhat, Sprukken skørhat

Dutch

Regenboogrussula, craquelérussula

English

Charcoal Burner, Variable Russula

Finnish

kyyhkyhapero

French

Russule charbonnière, Russule crevassée

German

Frauentäubling

Norwegian Bokmål

broket kremle

Norwegian Nynorsk

broket kremle

Spanish

rúsula de láminas bifurcadas, gibelurdin, santiaguero, cualbra, rúsula de los cerdos, Carbonera

Swedish

brokkremla, mellankremla

Welsh

Tegyll Brau Dulas

Synonyms

• Agaricus cyanoxanthus
• Hypophyllum virens
• Russula angustata
• Russula cutefracta
• Russula cutifracta
• Russula flavoviridis
• Russula furcata
• Russula lilacina
• Russula lilacina
• Russula peltereaui
• Russula subacerba
• Russula variata — Variable Russula