Russula persanguinea (Russula persanguinea)

For Russula in general see https://canberra.naturemapr.org/species/11809

Russula persanguinea has a bright red cap up to 10 centimetres in diameter, but mature caps are often little more than half that size. The cap is smooth, shallowly convex to flat with a slight central depression and is viscid in moist conditions – but the cap dries out and is often seen with no trace of viscidity. the margin may be striate. The gills are white and so is the stem, which is smooth and dry.

There is neither a partial veil nor a universal veil.

Spore print: white

This species is found growing in association with eucalypts in a variety of habitats.

Look-alikes

The red/white colour distribution as noted above and the native habitat make this a distinctive species.

 There are similarly coloured northern hemisphere species that form mycorrhizal associations with northern hemisphere tree species. Given that some northern hemisphere Russulas are found in Australia, in association with introduced trees, it is conceivable that an exotic red/white Russula could be found here. There have been reports of the visually similar Russula emetica in Australia but it seems likely that these have been mis-identifications.

 Reference    

J.A. Cooper, J. Nuytinck & T. Lebel (2022), Confirming the presence of some introduced Russulaceae species in Australia and New Zealand, Swainsona, 36, 9–32.