Russula 'purpureoflava group'

Cotter River, ACT

Request use of media

Identification history

Russula 'purpureoflava group'	15 Jun 2022	Heino1
Russula purpureoflava	1 Jun 2022	trevorpreston
Russula sp.	26 May 2022	Heino1
Russula sp.	26 May 2022	trevorpreston
Unidentified	25 May 2022	trevorpreston

Identify this sighting

Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

Fungi caps about 10cm

2 comments

trevorpreston wrote:

1 Jun 2022

Heino, could this be Russula purpureoflava? (p170 A field Guide to Australian Fungi by Bruce Fuhrer)

Heino1 wrote:

1 Jun 2022

It could be the species you suggest but there are some other macroscopically similar species. Fuhrer is a good book and another is A Field Guide to Tasmanian Fungi, by Genevieve Gates & David Ratkowsky. On page 142 of the latter you'll find Russula lenkunya pictured (and one technical monograph includes another couple of violaceous to reddish-purple species in Australia). There are several genera (Russula being one) where there are now a good number of sp. sightings and which I've been thinking of splitting, not necessarily into precise species (which may not be identifiable from only a photo) but into broad groups (e.g. we could have Russula ' purpureoflava group'). One thing with some Russulas is that the cap pigments 'run' in the rain. If you look at the Russula sp. sightings you will see some with colours washed out - and such sightings could still be a challenge to put into broad groups. Anyway, I'll do something with Russulas, perhaps in the next few days.

Please Login or Register to comment.