Blackening Russula; Blackening Brittlegill
Depicted are young caps of the most commonly encountered species of the Russula compactae group whose members all have in common starting white and becoming black with age. Russula atrata (also known as R. albonigra) becomes gray where bruised and then black, whereas R. nigricans first turns red where injured before becoming gray and then black after about twenty minutes. It will eventually become totally black, gills and all. The caps will reach 10-15 cm in size. They are stout but share the tendency to shatter when traumatized common to all Russulas. The gills are close in this species and a few short gills are present at the margins, a feature not found in most Russula species. At least one species in the complex is deadly poisonous, so they are best avoided as table fare.