The Sickener

Russula emetica

Toxic

Also called emetic russula, vomiting russula.

The sickener is a bright red brittlegill with snow-white gills and stem. Its name records what it does: it causes vomiting and diarrhea. It grows in moss and bogs under conifers, and it stands for a large group of similar red Russulas.

A sickener with a bright red cap and white gills and stem, growing from the forest floor

The tell

Bright scarlet cap over pure white gills and a pure white, brittle stem.

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, scarlet to cherry red, sticky when wet. The red skin peels easily, and the color can fade to pink with rain or age.
Underside
White gills, attached to the stem, brittle and fairly crowded.
Stem
Pure white, brittle, and snapping cleanly like chalk. No ring and no cup.
Flesh
White, brittle, pinkish just under the cap skin. Taste very peppery and acrid. Smell faint and fruity.
Spore print
White.
Size
Cap 1 1/4 to 4 inches (3 to 10 cm) wide; stem 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) tall.

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
In sphagnum moss and bogs, and in wet conifer woods.
Grows on
Soil and moss, mycorrhizal with conifer roots.
Season
Summer through fall.
Range
Northern North America in the strict sense; similar red Russulas are recorded under this name across the continent.

Lookalikes

What the the sickener gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  3. Russula silvicola and other red Russulas

    Several red, white-gilled, peppery Russulas grow on wood or soil under hardwoods and conifers. Telling them apart takes microscopic features; they are treated alike in field guides.

Edibility

What the field guides say

Toxic

Field guides list the sickener as poisonous. Eaten raw or undercooked, it causes vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps within a few hours. The irritant compounds behind its peppery taste are not fully characterized, and it is not known to cause lasting harm.

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 the sickener

Is the sickener poisonous?

Yes. Field guides list it as poisonous, and it causes vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Its name and Latin epithet, emetica, both refer to vomiting.

What does the sickener look like?

A bright red, sticky cap on a pure white stem, with pure white gills and a white spore print. The flesh is brittle and snaps like chalk.

How is the sickener different from the fly agaric?

Both have red caps and white gills. The fly agaric has white warts on the cap, a ring on the stem and a bulb with cottony rings at the base; the sickener has a smooth cap, no ring and a plain stem base.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Emetic Russula

    Missouri Department of Conservation

  2. Russula emetica

    Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia

  3. Russula emetica

    Index Fungorum

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