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Yellow Swamp Brittlegill

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Yellow Swamp Brittlegill

Edible

Autumn

Summer

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The bright shiny yellow cap of the Yellow Swamp Brittlegill is an easy way to identify this tasty mushroom.

One of the best tasting Russulas and being so bright yellow and usually shiny, easy to identify.

Mushroom Type
Common Names	Yellow Swamp Brittlegill (EN), Yellow Swamp Russula, Tegyll Brau Melyn y Gors (CY), Gołąbek Jasnożółty (PL), Krómsárga Galambgomba (HU)
Scientific Name	Russula claroflava
Season Start	Aug
Season End	Oct
Average Mushroom height (CM)	10
Average Cap width (CM)	10

Please note that each and every mushroom you come across may vary in appearance to these photos.

Cap

Convex flattening out with a depression in the centre. Bright egg yellow and usually shiny. Sticky to the touch.

Gills

Gills white and attached to the stem. Crowded. Bruising grey. Brittle to the touch.

Stem

White and not tapering with no skirt. Should snap like a piece of chalk.

Flesh

White bruising grey.

Habitat

Wet boggy ground in mixed woodland, particularly with birch.

Possible Confusion

The Ochre Brittlegill (Russula ochroleuca), pictured, but this is edible, if a bit acrid, and has a duller yellow cap.
The Geranium Brittlegill (Russula fellea), is dirtier yellow with a smell of geraniums and is very hot when placed on the tongue.

Spore Print

Pale ochre. Ellipsoid with warts.

Taste / Smell

Good. Mild with slight heat.

Frequency

Very common and widespread all around the British Isles, except in the Republic of Ireland.

Other Facts

The genus Russula split from other mushrooms, evolutionarily, many years ago and have round cells instead of most other living organisms which have elongated cells, this gives Russulas the common name Brittlegills as the cells make the mushroom brittle.
In March 2025 the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) added 1000 fungal species to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN (Global) Conservation Status of Yellow Swamp Brittlegill (Russula claroflava) is: LC – Least Concern, with stable population. For more information, see on the following link.

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