Bare-toothed Brittlegill, the Flirt

Bare-toothed Brittlegill, the Flirt Russula vesca Fr. (illustrated 40% life size) Cap 5–10cm across, somewhat globose at first, later flattened convex; rather variable in colour, often with pastel tints, from dark or pale wine-coloured to buff, sometimes with olive or greenish tints; fleshy, firm; half peeling, tending to retreat from the margin and leave the underlying flesh visible. Stem 30–100×15–25mm, often with somewhat pointed base; white; rather hard. Flesh white; taste mild, nutty. Gills adnexed, rather closely spaced, narrow, forked, especially near stem; whitish to very pale cream, gills and stem surface rapidly deep salmon when rubbed with an iron salt. Spores 6–8×5–6µ, ovate; small warts up to 0.5µ high, very occasionally with short lines attached or joining pairs. Spore print whitish (A). Cap cystidia cylindrical or spindle-shaped, without septa, hardly reacting to SV; cap hyphae with cylindrical or tapering terminal cells or sometimes a long, tapering, thick-walled hair; supporting cells rectangular. Habitat with broad-leaved trees; summer to autumn. Common. Edible.