Russula brevipes
| Russula brevipes | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Subkingdom: | Dikarya |
| Phylum: | Basidiomycota |
| Subphylum: | Agaricomycotina |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Russulales |
| Family: | Russulaceae |
| Genus: | Russula |
| Species: | R. brevipes |
| Binomial name | |
| Russula brevipes Peck |
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| Russula brevipes | |
|---|---|
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gills on hymenium |
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cap is flat or infundibuliform |
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hymenium is decurrent |
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stipe is bare |
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spore print is white |
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ecology is mycorrhizal |
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edibility: edible |
Russula brevipes is a species of mushroom commonly known as the short-stemmed russula. It is edible, although its quality is improved once parasitised by the ascomycete fungus Hypomyces lactifluorum, transforming it into an edible known as a lobster mushroom.
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[edit] Taxonomy
Russula brevipes was initially described by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck in 1890. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin brevis "short" and pes "foot", hence "short-footed".[1]
[edit] Description
Fully grown, the cap can range from 7 to 30 cm (3–12 in) in diameter, whitish to dull-yellow in color, and is funnel-shaped with a central depression. The gills are narrow and thin, decurrent in attachment, nearly white when young but becoming pale yellow to buff in age, and sometimes forked near the stipe. The stipe is 3–8 cm long, 2.5–4 cm thick, white in color but with yellowish-brownish discolorations in age. The spore print is white to light cream in color.[2]
The variant R. brevipes var acrior Shaffer has a subtle green shading at the stipe apex and on the gills.[2]
[edit] Distribution and habitat
It is a common ectomycorrhizal fungus associated with several hosts across temperate forest ecosystems. Recently, it has been reported in Pakistan's Himalayan moist temperate forests associated with Pinus wallichiana.[3]
[edit] Edibility
A non-descript edible species, Russula brevipes is commonly parasitized by the parasitic ascomycete Hypomyces lactifluorum, transforming it into an edible known as a lobster mushroom.[2]
[edit] Bioactive compounds
The sesquiterpene lactone named russulactarorufin along with lactarorufin-A and 24-ethyl-cholesta-7,22E-diene-3β,5α,6β-triol have been isolated and characterized from this species.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Shaffer RL. (1964). The subsection Lactariodeae of Russula. Mycologia 56(2): 202–231.
- ^ Simpson DP (1979). Cassell's Latin Dictionary (5 ed.). London: Cassell Ltd.. pp. 883. ISBN 0-304-52257-0.
- ^ a b c David Arora (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. Ten Speed Press. pp. 87–88. ISBN 0-89815-169-4.
- ^ Niazi AR, Iqbal SH, Khalid AN. (2006). Biodiversity of mushrooms and ectomycorrhizas. 1. Russula brevipes peck., and its ectomycorrhiza - A new record from Himalayan moist temperate forests of Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany 38 (4):1271–77.
- ^ Suri OP, Shah R, Satti NK, Suri KA. (1997). Russulactarorufin, a lactarane skeleton sesquiterpene from Russula brevipes. Phytochemistry. 45(7): 1453–55.
