# Russula rosea
**Russula rosea** Pers. is a species of mushroom in the brittlegill genus *Russula*, family [Russulaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/russulaceae), order [Russulales](https://www.edgepedia.org/russulales), described by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1796 in *Observationes mycologicae*[1](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=465253). It is known in English as the Rosy Brittlegill and in Welsh as Tegyll Brau Gwridog[2](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/uk-species/taxon?tvk=NHMSYS0001496874). The species is a red- or pink-capped, mild-tasting brittlegill whose name has been entangled in one of the better-known nomenclatural problems in the genus, and whose current synonymy includes *Russula lepida* Fr. and *Russula lactea* Fr.[3](https://species.data.kew.org/species/465253)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author and date | *Russula rosea* Pers., Observ. mycol. (Lipsiae) 1: 100 (1796)[1](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=465253) |
| Classification | Fungi, Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Russulales, Russulaceae, *Russula*[1](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=465253) |
| Principal synonyms | *Russula lepida* Fr. 1836, *Russula lactea* Fr., *Agaricus lacteus* Pers., *Russula incarnata* Quél.[3](https://species.data.kew.org/species/465253) • [2](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/uk-species/taxon?tvk=NHMSYS0001496874) |
| Homonymy | *R. rosea* (Schaeff. →) Quél. 1886 is an illegitimate homonym of *R. rosea* Pers. 1796; the Quélet species is now *R. velutipes* Velen.[4](https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/531703/PERS1985012004007.pdf) |
| Habitat of type material | On soil, associated with *Pinus* and with *Fagus*[1](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=465253) |
| Spores (Quélet concept) | 6–8 × 5–6.5 µm, warts 0.2–0.5 µm high, with thick and fine connecting lines but no meshes[5](https://www.mushroomthejournal.com/greatlakesdata/Taxa/Russurosea958.html) |
| Edibility | Widely documented as edible; *R. lepida* (a synonym) is listed as edible in a recent review[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010125007123) • [7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12112443/) |
## Nomenclatural history
The name *Russula rosea* has been applied to two different fungi, and sorting out which name belongs to which species required type studies and a formal ruling under the botanical code. Under the rules in force after the sanctioning reform, the name *R. rosea* (Schaeff. →) Quél. 1886, long used for a reddish-capped brittlegill, became an illegitimate homonym of *R. rosea* Pers. 1796. Following a suggestion by Singer and Machol (1983), the Quélet species is correctly named *R. velutipes* Velen.[4](https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/531703/PERS1985012004007.pdf)
Persoon's own name posed a second problem. Type studies by Rolf Singer in 1962 concluded that *Russula rosea* Pers. is identical with the species *Russula lepida* Fr. 1836, which would have required another name change in the genus; this change was accepted by Imler (1982), who did not mention the synonymy with *R. lepida*[4](https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/531703/PERS1985012004007.pdf). Current nomenclatural databases nonetheless treat *Russula rosea* Pers. 1796 as the accepted name, with *Russula lepida* Fr., *Russula lactea* Fr., *Agaricus lacteus* Pers., *Russula incarnata* Quél., *Russula morganii* Sacc., and *Russula cypriani* Gillet among the listed synonyms[3](https://species.data.kew.org/species/465253) • [1](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=465253). The UK Natural History Museum's species dictionary likewise lists *R. lepida* Fr. and *R. lactea* Fr. as junior synonyms of the accepted *R. rosea* Pers.[2](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/uk-species/taxon?tvk=NHMSYS0001496874)
The confusion is compounded in herbaria: the Paris Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle holds specimens registered under five author variants of the name, *R. rosea* Zv., Q., Quelet, Pers., and Quél., and notes that the species name may be a homonymy case under the botanical code[8](https://science.mnhn.fr/taxon/species/russula/rosea). First Nature adds that the reddish-capped species Quélet described in 1886 as *Russula rosea* is now recognized as synonymous with *Russula aurora* (Krombh.)[9](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/russula-rosea.php)
## Identification
The diagnosis given for the Quélet concept of the species, as recorded in the Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming database, distinguishes it within the mild red brittlegills by the following characters[5](https://www.mushroomthejournal.com/greatlakesdata/Taxa/Russurosea958.html):
- Cap up to 3 3/4 inches across, red or pink, with the disk usually cream and sometimes the entire cap cream; the cuticle peels about half of the way to the center.
- Gills pale cream, abundantly forked near the stem; partial gills abundant.
- Stem white, farinose, fragile, usually short, and thick.
- Odor slightly fruity; taste mild.
- Spore print cream; dried stem stains carmine with sulfovanillin.
- Under the microscope, spores of 6–8 × 5–6.5 µm with warts 0.2–0.5 µm high joined by both thick and fine connecting lines but no meshes; pileocystidia absent, but encrusted primordial hyphae present in the cap cuticle.
These characters place the species in the Roseinae lineage of *Russula*. A 2022 systematic revision of that clade describes its members as having a white to pale cream spore print, a mild taste, a positive reaction to sulfovanillin, and primordial hyphae with acid-resistant crystals in the pileipellis; the study lists *R. rosea* among the two European species of the subsection, against a potential nine temperate North American, four Central American, and fourteen Asian species[10](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35394897/). Field identification of red-capped brittlegills to species generally requires microscopy or [DNA sequencing](https://www.edgepedia.org/dna-sequencing), since many species share similar macroscopic features[11](https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/kzoebel/118481-russula-identification)
## Ecology and distribution
The type material of *R. rosea* was recorded on soil associated with *Pinus* and with *Fagus*[1](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=465253). The Quélet-concept diagnosis records the species as growing under hardwoods[5](https://www.mushroomthejournal.com/greatlakesdata/Taxa/Russurosea958.html). The species is present in the British checklist framework, where the Natural History Museum lists it as a live, recommended, well-formed accepted name with the English common name Rosy Brittlegill[2](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/uk-species/taxon?tvk=NHMSYS0001496874), and a specimen sequenced for the Roseinae revision was collected in France[10](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35394897/)
## Edibility and chemistry
Both *R. rosea* and the related *R. compacta* are widely documented as edible. In a 2025 report of a mixed wild-mushroom poisoning in Yunnan, China, morphological and phylogenetic analyses identified the consumed samples as *Collybiopsis orientisubnuda*, *Russula compacta*, and *Russula rosea*; the investigators concluded that *C. orientisubnuda*, not either *Russula* species, was the most likely causative agent of the nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and fever seen in five patients[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010125007123). A comprehensive review of *Russula* bioactivity lists *R. lepida*, a synonym of *R. rosea*, as edible[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12112443/)
The species has also contributed a biochemically notable compound: a novel lectin with potent in vitro anti-tumor activity was isolated from *Russula rosea*, the first lectin reported from the genus *Russula*[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12112443/)
## References
1. [Index Fungorum, Name Record 465253: Russula rosea Pers.](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=465253)
2. [Natural History Museum UK Species Dictionary: Russula rosea Pers.](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/uk-species/taxon?tvk=NHMSYS0001496874)
3. [Kew, species.data: Russula rosea Pers.](https://species.data.kew.org/species/465253)
4. [Kuyper, Th.W. & van Vuure, M. (1985). Nomenclatural notes on Russula. Persoonia 12(4): 447–455.](https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/531703/PERS1985012004007.pdf)
5. [Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming: Russula rosea Quélet](https://www.mushroomthejournal.com/greatlakesdata/Taxa/Russurosea958.html)
6. [A mixed mushroom poisoning in humans associated with the ingestion of Collybiopsis orientisubnuda. Food and Chemical Toxicology / ScienceDirect (2025).](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010125007123)
7. [Unveiling the Bioactive Compounds and Therapeutic Potential of Russula: A Comprehensive Review. PMC (2024).](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12112443/)
8. [Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, science.mnhn.fr: Russula rosea](https://science.mnhn.fr/taxon/species/russula/rosea)
9. [First Nature: Russula rosea, Rosy Brittlegill](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/russula-rosea.php)
10. [Systematic revision of the Roseinae clade of Russula, with a focus on eastern North American taxa. PubMed (2022).](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35394897/)
11. [Russula Identification, iNaturalist journal](https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/kzoebel/118481-russula-identification)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Microorganisms and fungi › Fungi and mycology › Basidiomycete taxa › Agaricomycetes › Russulales › Russula › Russula subg. Amoenula*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license