Green Brittlegill
The Green Brittlegill, or Green Russula, is a type of fungi found in Southeast Alaska and other northern temperate regions such as Britain and Ireland. (O'Reilly) It is often confused with the Russula virescens, which is also sometimes known as the Green Russula since it is part of the Russulaceae family and is green. This Green Brittlegill is, as I mentioned, part of the Russulaceae family, which is a family of fungi known for encompassing almost 2000 species of fungi (Russula). Usually, these mushrooms are found in small groups, but the one I found was singular. (O'Reilly) Its scientific name is Russula aeruginea. Russula means "red" and Aeruginea refers to different shades of green in Latin. The Russula aeruginea has a white stalk and spores, but its cap is a tan-green color. (Alaska, 15) Some eat these mushrooms, but it is debated whether or not they are edible. In Alaska, they are considered edible and "tasty by some" (Alaska, 15). As for medicinal or spiritual uses, there are not many to be found. However, there is information on the overarching family of this mushroom. The Russula mushrooms, in general, contain antioxidants and have been used in various countries for treating "liver disease, chest pain, and eye problems". (Porter).
I have never really been a fan of mushrooms, since I am mildly allergic to some species. However, I found this little guy when I was out on a walk a few nights ago and it's gooey top was intriguing to me. I know mushrooms have many uses and lots of history, but I am wary of trying them since I have a very hard time distinguishing them and don't want to end up poisoning myself.
Works Cited
Alaska Region, Forest Service. Mushrooms of the National Forests in Alaska - US Forest Service, www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5414170.pdf. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023.
O’Reilly, Pat. “Russula Aeruginea Fr. - Green Brittlegill.” Russula Aeruginea, Green Brittlegill Mushroom, www.first-nature.com/fungi/russula-aeruginea.php. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023.
Porter, Sandy. “Russula Mushrooms: A Complete Guide.” AZ Animals, 14 Dec. 2022, a-z-animals.com/blog/russula-mushrooms-a-complete-guide/.
“Russula Aeruginea.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Sept. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russula_aeruginea.
Comments
Hey, Lera! I saw you changed your identification of the mushroom you observed in downtown Juneau a few days ago from a Green Russula to a Green Brittlegill and wonder which identifying features you recognized that made you realize you initially concluded observations on the incorrect species. However, now that I’m properly looking at your associated write-up, the addendum you made and your journal post make it seem like the fungi has a few names that it goes by and it can be easily confused with members of a different species. My mom always told me to never eat wild mushrooms unless I am 110% positive it is safe to eat but, though there is some debate on this type, it is interesting to hear how some people say they are edible and some say otherwise.
Mushrooms are so terrifying! I know it’s popular to hunt for the things and guess at whether or not they are safe to eat. Hard pass on that for me, and I don’t have the excuse of being mildly allergic like you! The gooey top reminds me of one of those cookies with a dollop of strawberry. You can see how one might be tempted to eat it, but I am so with you, I’ll leave that for the mushroom hunters less risk averse than myself.
I’m intrigued by the historical spiritual uses of mushrooms, it seems a consistent theme throughout many cultures. Another thing I’ll leave to cooler people to discover, but it’s interesting that the practice of using these little fungi to open one’s mind seems a resounding theme throughout the world.
Thanks for bringing mushrooms into our array of observations, Lera! There's so much out there we share our homes with, and so much of it we never notice.
I need to make a few comments about your MLA formatting. First of all, as with several of your peers this week, sometimes you include the "Accessed" date at the end of your entry, and sometimes you don't. When you're using an electronic source, please always included the "Accessed" date information.
Within your own writing, please remember that punctuation goes AFTER the parenthetical citation. Just remember that the parenthetical citation is part of the sentence, so you have to use your punctuation to include it. Lastly, there should be no comma between the author's last name and the page number in your parenthetical citations.
Everyone can keep checking their work against our owl.purdue website to catch all these nit-picky details! Usually, it's easiest to just do the MLA formatting all at once by opening up the website and writing up your Works Cited entries and parenthetical citations while you check the website.
Best,
Prof Brooke
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