The Flirt / Russula Vesca - Organic Mushroom's Dry Mycelium

Organic The Flirt Mushroom's Dry Mycelium

The Flirt is common and widespread in Britain and Ireland and wherever there are oak or Beech trees on mainland Europe. The gills and stem surface of this brittlegill rapidly turn a deep salmon or rusty-pink when rubbed with iron salts (FeSO4) and react rapidly positive (turning blue) with Guaiac tincture; these are useful field tests because the colour of caps of The Flirt and of several other pinkish-red brittlegills are so variable that cap colour is of limited value as a diagnostic feature.
Taxonomic history

Russula vesca was described and named in 1836 by the famous Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries. Synonyms of Russula vesca include Russula mitis Rea.
 

Russula, the generic name, means red or reddish, and indeed many of the brittlegills have red caps (but many more are not, and several of those that are usually red can also occur in a range of other colours!).

The specific epithet vesca means edible - as of course do several other Latin words that appear in mushroom species names, such as esculenta, although tere's a trap. Not all species with 'esculenta' in their names are safe to eat, although when they were named they were thought to be!
 

Caps of Russula vesca are very variable in colour, ranging from deep wine-red to buff, sometimes with brown, olive or green tints; however, Geoffrey Kibby in his superb book The Genus Russula in Great Britain, says that the colour of 'old ham' is a very accurate description.

The cap has a smooth surface and is 5 to10cm across, initially globose, becoming convex and sometimes developing a shallow central depression. The cuticle of mature specimens does not quite reach the margin - typical shortfall about 1mm - and so the cap flesh and gill edges are visible from the top. The cuticle peels about 50% from the cap margin.
 

As its specific epithet declares, Russula vesca is an edible brittlegill - in fact many people consider this to be one of the very finest of wild mushrooms. Unfortunately The Flirt rarely fruits in throngs, but more commonly as isolated singletons or very small widely scattered groups. This mild-tasting mushroom retains a nice firm texture after being cooked. Sautéed with onions and garlic, these chunky mushrooms can be served with meat dishes; alternatively they make nice omelette fillings or they can be used in mushroom soups or stews.