← All comparisons

The Sickener vs Charcoal Burner

Russula emetica and Russula cyanoxantha are confused for one another often enough to be worth putting next to each other.

Russula emeticaThe SickenerPoisonous

Blazing red cap, searingly acrid taste. Raw it causes vomiting; the name is a fair warning.

Russula cyanoxanthaCharcoal BurnerEdible

The one Russula with flexible, greasy gills that do not shatter. Mild-tasting and excellent.

Side by side

Russula emeticaRussula cyanoxantha
In this gamePoisonousEdible
HabitatWet conifer woodland and sphagnum bog, with pine and spruce.Broadleaf woodland, mycorrhizal with beech and oak.
SeasonSummer to autumn.Summer to autumn.
Spore printWhite.White.

This comparison cannot make a mushroom safe to eat. It sets out the few characteristics this game records, in general terms, for two species that vary by region, age and growing conditions. Real specimens overlap in ways no table and no photograph can separate, and the deadly one here is deadly in a single meal. Ask a qualified local expert, every time.

Advertisement

Read more

Russula cyanoxantha is also confused with Death Cap.

Play today’s puzzle →