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Blackish Purple Russula
Edible 
Autumn 
Summer 
This imaginatively named mushroom belongs to a great family for novice foragers to learn about. They are very common and it is easy to distinguish between the poisonous and edibles within the Russula family.
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | Blackish Purple Russula, Purple Brittlegill |
| Scientific Name | Russula atropurpurea |
| Season Start | Aug |
| Season End | Nov |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | 6 |
| Average Cap width (CM) | 10 |
Cap
It is a dark red wine colour with purple to almost black in the middle. Starting convex, flattening with a depression in the middle.
Gills
Gills white/cream, neat, brittle and slightly connected to stem. Crowded when young.
Stem
White becoming off white/ grey with age. Should snap a bit like chalk.
Flesh
White with a granular feel.
Habitat
Mixed woodland, particularly Oak and Beech.
Possible Confusion
Other red or purple Russulas (see the Beechwood Sickener). A good test for Russulas is the taste test, if a tiny amount is placed on the tongue and chewed a burn like chilli means the mushroom is poisonous, a pleasant mushroomy taste means it is edible. This test should only be attempted when you are certain you have a mushroom from the Russula family.
This mushroom can be peppery on the tongue but is edible when cooked so care should be taken when identifying this mushroom for consumption.
Spore Print
Off white. Subglobose to globose.
Taste / Smell
Smell is sweet and fruity. Taste can be fairly mild but more often moderately hot and chilli like, in particular in the gills. The taste test should only be done when you’re certain that you have a Russula and the chewed bits should be spat out. This mushroom must be cooked before consumption.
Frequency
Common.
Other Facts
The Russula family split from other mushrooms, evolutionarily, many years ago and have round cells instead of elongated cells like most living organisms, this gives Russulas the common name Brittlegills as the cells make the mushroom brittle.
7 comments for Blackish Purple Russula
Hi there,
I picked this purple Russula but the stems are not white but a but purpleish, is it the same one or it is inedible one.
Please advise
The Blackish Purple Russula should have a white stem, there are similar species with a purple tinge to the stem such as Russula sardonia, there are no purple stemmed ones that I eat.
Just found some beautiful ‘white stem’ samples in my local wood.. easy to distinguish from any other russula. Enjoying the clean up after the forage.. many thanks to Wild Foods UK for my copy of there book I have with me everywhere I go 🙂 love every moment of life with nature nurturing our souls! Bless
I too have found purple stemmed and purple capped russula’s. Even with the caps blackening in the centre. Growing in the same place as Blackish Purple Russulas. I came to the conclusion that they were in fact “bloody Brittlegills” which are similar in almost all respects other than this stem colouring. Be aware as these are poisonous.
Perhaps an additional inclusion to the possible confusion notes. The stem colour is a simple enough point to flag.
Hi just looking for some clarification regarding Blackish Purple Russula and the raw taste test. Does chilli like heat indicate that the actual mushroom you are tasting is poisonous, or is this acceptable and will be will it be edible when sufficiently cooked?
Thanks.
The safe way to consume Russulas is to only eat any that have no chilli or pepper like heat, however, some that have heat are edible, you have to be confident with your IDs if you go down that path. They do not become safe after cooking but the most poisonous Russula in the UK will only cause you to vomit back up the mushrooms you have eaten.
I took a small bite out of a raw one and boy was it spicy. I did swallow but it was a little bit.