Phylum: Basidiomycota - Class: Agaricomycetes - Order: Russulales - Family: Russulaceae
Distribution - Taxonomic History - Etymology - Identification - Culinary Notes - Reference Sources
These brittlegills have primrose gills that turn golden yellow with age. The specimens shown on the left have emerged in wet weather and already slugs have taken chunks out of their caps.
Very common and widespread throughout Britain and Ireland and most of mainland Europe. This brittlegill occurs also in parts of North America.
The Primrose Brittlegill was given its current scientific name Russula sardonia in 1838 by the great Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries.
Russula sardonia has many synonyms including Russula sardonia var. citrina Pers., Russula drimeia Cooke, Russula chrysodacryon Singer, Russula sardonia var. mellina Melzer, Russula chrysodacryon f. viridis Singer, Russula drimeia var. flavovirens Rea, Russula emeticiformis Murrill, and Russula drimeia f. viridis (Singer) Bon.
Russula, the generic name, means red or reddish, and indeed many of the brittlegills have red caps (but many more are not, and several of those that are usually red can also occur in a range of other colours!). The specific epithet sardonia comes from Greek and means bitter or acrid - a reference to the hot peppery taste of this mushroom.
![]() |
Cap5 to 10cm across; convex, flattening and developing a central depression; hardly peeling at all; usually reddish-puple with a darker purple (sometimes almost black) centre, but sometimes with violet, green (form viridis) or grey tints; fading with age. Occasionally found with a lemon to ochre-yellow cap (form mellina). |
![]() |
GillsAdnexed or very slightly decurrent; pale lemon to primrose yellow at first, becoming golden yellow and finally browning at the edges. When a cap develops a central depression at maturity, the gills sometimes tear away from the stem. StemWhite at the base, the stem of Russula sardonia is flushed lilac to wine-red above; cylindrical or tapering slightly at base; 5 to 8cm long, 1.0 to 1.6cm dia. |
![]() |
SporesOvoid; 7–9 x 5.8–8µm; with warts up to 0.6µm tall, joined to form a partial reticulum (network) via a combination of ridges and fine connective lines. Spore printCream. |
Odour/taste |
Fruity odour; very hot taste - so hot that I think you are unlikely to want to try taste testing red- or purple-stemmed brittlegills except as a last resort! |
Habitat & Ecological role |
In coniferous woodland, particularly under pines. In common with other members of the Russulaceae, Russula sardonia is an ectomycorrhizal mushroom. |
Season |
July to October in Britain and Ireland. |
Similar species |
Russula atropurpurea the Purple Brittlegill, has a white stem. |
Although some sources say that despite its super-hot peppery taste the Primrose Brittlegill is edible, many authorities state that it is suspect and could cause stomach upsets.
, Pat O'Reilly 2016.
The Genus Russula in Great Britain, Geoffrey Kibby 2011.
Dictionary of the Fungi; Paul M. Kirk, Paul F. Cannon, David W. Minter and J. A. Stalpers; CABI, 2008
Taxonomic history and synonym information on these pages is drawn from many sources but in particular from the British Mycological Society's GB Checklist of Fungi.
Please Help Us: If you have found this information interesting and useful, please consider helping to keep First Nature online by making a small donation towards the web hosting and internet costs.
Any donations over and above the essential running costs will help support the conservation work of Plantlife, the Rivers Trust and charitable botanic gardens - as do author royalties and publisher proceeds from books by Pat and Sue.