Shrimp Russula

Russula xerampelina

Edible

Also called shrimp mushroom, crab brittlegill.

The shrimp russula is a red, purple or brownish brittlegill named for its fishy, shellfish smell, which develops as it ages. Its white stem bruises yellow and then brown. It grows under conifers and hardwoods across North America and is one of the few Russulas field guides single out as edible.

Russula xerampelina

Photo coming

The tell

A red to purple Russula whose stem bruises yellow then brown and which smells of shrimp or crab with age.

Field marks

What to look at

Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.

Cap
Convex to flat with a shallow dip, smooth and slightly sticky when wet. Color varies widely: wine red, purple, brownish red, olive or nearly black at the center.
Underside
Whitish to pale yellow gills, attached to the stem, brittle and crowded to fairly spaced.
Stem
White, often flushed pink or red, firm and dry. It bruises yellow and then brown where handled. No ring and no cup.
Flesh
White, brittle, browning slowly where cut. Taste mild, not peppery. Older specimens smell of shrimp, crab or fish. Iron salts (ferrous sulfate) turn the flesh green, a test field guides use to confirm it.
Spore print
Cream to yellowish ochre.
Size
Cap 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) wide; stem 1 1/2 to 4 inches (4 to 10 cm) tall.

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
On the ground in conifer and mixed forests, and under hardwoods in some regions.
Grows on
Soil, mycorrhizal with tree roots.
Season
Summer through fall; fall into winter on the Pacific Coast.
Range
Across North America, where the name covers a group of closely related species.

Lookalikes

What the shrimp russula gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  3. Other red Russulas

    Many red Russulas look alike. Most lack the combination of a yellowish spore print, browning stem, shellfish smell and green reaction to iron salts.

Edibility

What the field guides say

Edible

Field guides list the shrimp russula as edible and among the better Russulas. Its toxic confusions are red Russulas with a peppery, acrid taste, such as the sickener, which cause vomiting and diarrhea, and the fly agaric, which contains ibotenic acid and muscimol.

This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.

FAQ

Questions about the shrimp russula

Why does the shrimp russula smell like shrimp?

As it ages, the mushroom develops a fishy, shellfish odor that field guides compare to shrimp or crab. Young specimens may smell faint, so the smell is used together with the browning stem.

How do you identify a shrimp russula?

It has a red to purple cap, a white stem that bruises yellow then brown, a mild taste, a cream to ochre spore print and a fishy smell with age. Iron salts turn its flesh green.

Is shrimp russula edible?

Field guides list it as edible. Red Russulas with a peppery taste, such as the sickener, are listed as poisonous, so it is separated from them by its browning stem and spore print color.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  2. Russula xerampelina

    Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia

  3. Russula xerampelina

    MykoWeb, California Fungi

  4. Russula xerampelina

    Index Fungorum

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