Early Russula

Since late April I've been finding Russula/Brittlegills in an area in Whiterock. I've been going back regularly to see if anymore have appeared and that my first find was not the one off it could have been. Every week without fail I have found at least one and last week counted six. It's been very difficult to find one in good condition but I did and managed to get a spore print.

The mushroom is Russula puellaris. I used a Russula guide to help me, took a spore print, peeled the cap and ate some too. I don't enjoy the taste of Russula, which can be hot or acrid.. I confirmed it using the mycokey website.

It's quite a small mushroom with a purplish rose cap that turns yellow as the mushroom matures. The entire stem turns yellow and the cap eventually turns brown as a result of yellowing althougth if it rains, the colour at any stage can get even more varied. 

The taste of Russula puellaris is mild, and the spore print is yellow.

In this particular photo you can see the yellowing on the stem.

The photos below are an example of the variability of the cap colour in this species.

The yellow spore print..