Olive Brittlegill

Olive Brittlegill Russula olivacea (Schaeff.) Fr. (illustrated 40% life size) Cap 6–16cm across, almost globose at first, later flattened or slightly depressed, often irregular, margin inrolled at first; varying considerably in colour from straw, pale ochre, or shades of olive or brown to dull purple or purplish-red; firm or hard, thick-fleshed; peeling up to one-third only. Stem 50–100×15–40mm; white, usually tinged rose or entirely so, yellowing slightly or browning around base, flesh livid purple with phenol solution; fairly hard. Flesh white; taste mild, nutty. Gills adnexed, forking and with cross-connections near stem; deep buff-straw. Spores 8–11×7–9µ, ovate; warts up to 1.5µ high, not or occasionally joined by lines. Spore print ochre (G–H). Cap cystidia absent; hyphae with rectangular, barrel- or ampoule-shaped cells, the terminal one sometimes strongly inflated. Habitat with beech; summer to autumn. Uncommon. Edible. Note similar to R. alutacea (below).