The Flirt (Russula vesca) gets its name from a charming habit. As the cap matures, its skin shrinks back from the edge, showing a narrow strip of the white gill tips beneath, like a flash of petticoat. The cap is usually the colour of old ham or bacon, varying from pinkish to deep red or buff, above crowded white to cream gills and a firm white stem.
It grows with broadleaf trees, especially oak and beech, from early summer into autumn, usually singly or in small groups. It is widely regarded as one of the best edible brittlegills, with a mild, nutty taste. The Crab Brittlegill (Russula xerampelina) is similar but develops a fishy smell, and other pink brittlegills lack the receding cap skin.
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Distribution
Common and widespread.
Habitat
Associated with broadleaf trees, particularly Quercus but occasionally also with conifers.
Etymology
Russula is a diminutive of the Latin russus, 'reddish', after the red caps of many species. vesca is usually read as 'edible', from the Latin vescor, 'to eat', though the classical word also meant 'thin' or 'small'.
Associates
Quercus
Conservation
Cap
The cap is 5-10 cm across, convex to flattened, smooth, firm and fleshy, with a flesh-pink colour described as 'old ham' or 'bacon'. The cuticle retracts from the margin with age, so the gills show and the edge looks grooved.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex, Flattened |
| Surface | Smooth |
| Width | 5 - 10 cm |
| Margin | Sulcate |
| Peeling | 1/2 |
Gills
The gills are cream, adnate, crowded and narrow, with a smooth edge. They are slightly interveined and fork and anastomose near the bases.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Adnate |
| Spacing | Crowded |
| Edge | Smooth |
Flesh
White and firm.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Not distinctive |
| Taste | Mild and nutty |
Stem
The stem is white, cylindrical and smooth, 3-9 cm tall, firm and fleshy and tapered. It is sometimes flushed pink on one side and has no ring.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 3 - 9 cm |
| Texture | Smooth |
| Shape | Cylindric |
Macrochemicals
| FeSO4 | |
|---|---|
| Guaiac |
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Size | 6.4-8 x 5.3-5.8 μm |
Microscopic Features
| Dermatocystidia | Fusiform |
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No observations with location data available for this fungus yet.
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Order: Russulales
- ↳ Family: Russulaceae
- ↳ Genus: Russula
Synonyms
- Russula mitis Rea
- Russula vesca f. lactea anon.
Reference Sources
S. Buczacki, C. Shields, D. Ovenden (2012) Collins Fungi Guide. HarperCollins.
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
G. Kibby (2021) The Genus Russula in Great Britain. Geoffrey Kibby.
