Japanese russula
Russula japonica · 日本红菇
Rarely Seen红菇科⚠️ Poisonous
Reference sources list this as a poisonous mushroom.
The same species can be described differently across regions and stages of maturity, and countless look-alike species cannot be told apart by eye. Never use the information on this page to judge whether a real mushroom is safe to eat.
How to Tell
- Cap white, funnel-shaped with a depressed center
- Gills white to pale yellow, crowded and fine
- Grows on the floor of evergreen hardwood forests
ID notes are compiled by AI from public sources, not reviewed by a mycologist, for learning only — never a basis for foraging.
Basics
- Family
- 红菇科
- Hymenium
- Gills
- Grows On
- Mycorrhizal
- How Big
- 6–15 cm (cap diameter)
- Encounter Rate
- Rarely Seen
- Habitat
- Ground in East Asian broadleaf woods
Easily Confused With
Blackening brittlegillBlackening brittlegill reddens then blackens when damaged; Japanese russula does not change colour.
Rank russulaCap grayish white to pale brown, center depressedFun Fact
A large white russula with crowded gills, it's a common gastrointestinal-irritant mushroom in East Asia, frequently mistaken for edible white russulas.
More in this family
- Charcoal burner
- Green-cracking russula
- Hatsudake
- Indigo milk cap
- Saffron milk cap
- The sickener
- Woolly milkcap