The Living Fungi LibraryFungi LibraryMushroom Forage Map
FungiHerbs
Open field map
Charcoal burner Russula with a violet-green cap
Edibleintermediate

Charcoal Burner

Russula cyanoxantha

A variably colored Russula in violet, green, and gray whose gills are flexible rather than brittle.

Photo: james_ferns_etc, CC BY
Compiled by Mushroom Forage Map field deskExpert review pendingContent checked
Identification warning

Green-tinged Russulas can be confused with the death cap. Confirm no ring and no volva.

Season
Summer to autumn
Habitat
Broadleaf woods, especially beech and oak
Underside
White, greasy, flexible gills
Spore evidence
White

Where it grows

Tracked records and known growing zone

Explore on the field map
Loading map…
Squares: where people recorded it, brighter where more people did
Verified records
1,299
People who recorded it
732
Most records (northern hemisphere)
Jul–Oct
Records span
1991–2026

Research-grade iNaturalist records, snapshot Aug 27, 2026. The growing zone combines areas where different people have repeatedly verified it. Records show where people looked and found it, not current abundance or permission to gather.

Observation season

When field records occur

Choose a hemisphere · All recorded years; not a current forecast.

Choose the hemisphere you want to study. Country detection is approximate and some countries span the equator.

Compare before concluding

Lookalikes to rule out

Death Cap

deadly

Death cap has a ring and a sac-like volva and never has brittle Russula flesh.

The sickener is scarlet and intensely acrid.

Other Russula

caution

Many Russula overlap in color; taste, spore color, and gill texture help separate them.

Identification

The cap mixes violet, lilac, gray, and green, often in patches. Unlike most Russulas, its white gills are flexible and greasy and do not shatter when rubbed. The stem is white. The taste is mild.

Uses and ecology

The charcoal burner is one of the most common edible Russulas in European woods. It is mycorrhizal with broadleaf trees.

Memorable fact

Its flexible gills are unusual for a genus famous for brittle, crumbly gills.

Sources

Never eat a mushroom from this page alone

Confirm identity using the whole specimen, multiple reputable sources, and a qualified local expert. Identified edible species still require appropriate preparation. Cooking does not make a poisonous mushroom safe.

Safety and poison response
Back to the fungi library