White-black podgruzdok (Russula albonigra)
- Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Incertae sedis (of uncertain position)
- Order: Russulales (Russulovye)
- Family: Russulaceae (Russula)
- Genus: Russula (Russula)
- Type: Russula albonigra (White-black loader)
- Russula white-black
White-black podgruzdok (Russula albonigra) – belongs to the russula genus, is included in the russula family. There are also such names of the mushroom: Black-and-white podgruzdok, Russula white-black, Nigella white-black. The mushroom has an interesting minty aftertaste of the pulp.
The white-and-black podgruzdok has a hat with a diameter of seven to twelve centimeters. At first, the flesh is convex, but then it has a tucked edge. As the fungus develops, the cap flattens and becomes concave. The color of the cap also changes – from white with a dirty tint to brown, almost black. It has a matte, smooth surface. Usually it is dry, only in wet weather – sometimes sticky. Often different forest debris can stick to such a hat. The skin is easily removed from the cap.
The plates of such a fungus are narrow and frequent. As a rule, they are of different lengths, often switching to a short stem. The color of the plates is at first white or slightly creamy, and then they gradually turn black. The spore powder is white or light cream in color.
The white-black loader has a small leg – from three to seven centimeters. Its thickness is up to two and a half centimeters. It is smooth, dense, cylindrical in shape. As the mushroom matures, it gradually turns black.
This mushroom has a dense, hard stem. If the mushroom is young, then it is white, but then becomes darker. The smell of the mushroom is weak, indefinite. But the taste is mild, has a light mint note. Sometimes there may be specimens with a sharper taste.
White-black podgruzdok grows in many forests – coniferous, broad-leaved. Growing time – from July to early October. But it is quite rare in the forests of Europe, Asia and North America.
It belongs to edible mushrooms, but its taste is rather mediocre. According to some Western researchers, it is still inedible or even poisonous. The fungus can cause gastrointestinal upset.
Similar species
- Blackening podgruzdok – Compared to white-black, this is a larger mushroom. It does not have such frequent plates, and the flesh turns red, and then blackens on the cut.
- Loader (russula) is often plate-shaped – Quite often found in our forests. It has the same frequent plates, and the flesh on the cut also changes its color from light to dark and black. But the pulp of this mushroom has an unpleasant burning taste.
- Russula black – The pulp of this mushroom tastes good, and it also turns black when cut. The plates of this fungus are frequent, dark in color.
Such mushrooms, together with the white-black load, are included in a special group of blackening mushrooms. This is due to the characteristic behavior of the pulp on the cut, because it changes its color to black without going through the so-called brown stage. And if you act on the pulp of the fungus with ferrous sulfate, then the color changes are completely different: at first it becomes pink, and then it acquires a green tint.