Names, authorship and dates from Index Fungorum.

• BasidiomycotaPhylum
• └─ AgaricomycetesClass
• └─ RussulalesOrder
• └─ RussulaceaeFamily
• └─ RussulaGenus

Higher ranks from Catalogue of Life (COL26.9 XR).

not recorded

Mycorrhizal with deciduous and coniferous trees, late summer to autumn, often in mountain forests

⚠ Before you pickWild fungi may be taken in small quantities for your own use (§39(3) BNatSchG) — but not in nature reserves or national parks, on closed land or on farmland in use, and never for sale (§39(4)). In Bavaria this right is anchored in Art. 141(3) of the state constitution and is limited to locally customary amounts; the competent authority is the district nature-conservation authority (untere Naturschutzbehörde). Local signs and ordinances come first.

Species protection from BArtSchV Annex 1 and §2(1), retrieved 2026-10-15; Red List from Dämmrich et al. (2016) (BfN / Rote-Liste-Zentrum). Not legal advice — local rules and signage may be stricter. BArtSchV Annex 1 · Red List data

not recorded

Edible

• ▸ Cap wine-red to purple-violet, often with an olive or grey flush, smooth and matt
• ▸ Firm, hard white flesh with a mild taste
• ▸ White stem, often flushed pink towards the base
• ▸ Brittle gills that chip rather than smear when pressed — unlike the pliable gills of the Charcoal Burner (Russula cyanoxantha)

A firm-fleshed relative of the Charcoal Burner (Russula cyanoxantha), from which it is separated by hard flesh and the pink-flushed stem base. Cap colour is extremely variable, so a firm white stem and a mild taste carry more weight than the hue.