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Charcoal burner or Green brittlegill

How they differ, how to recognize them and which is more dangerous — a mushroom comparison

The short answer

Charcoal burner and Green brittlegill are similar species that can be mixed up while foraging. The main visible difference: use: Charcoal burner — cook fresh, pickling, drying, Green brittlegill — cook fresh, pickling. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: cap color, flesh color change, partner trees.

Charcoal burner (Russula cyanoxantha)

Charcoal burner

Russula cyanoxantha

EdibleExpert-verified
Green brittlegill (Russula aeruginea)

Green brittlegill

Russula aeruginea

EdibleExpert-verified

📊 Comparing characteristics

Comparison of characteristics: Charcoal burner and Green brittlegill
Edibility class

Charcoal burner

Edible

Green brittlegill

Edible
Season

Charcoal burner

SummerAutumn

Green brittlegill

SummerAutumn
Use

Charcoal burner

Cook freshPicklingDrying

Green brittlegill

Cook freshPickling
Size

Charcoal burner

Medium (5–15 cm)

Green brittlegill

Medium (5–15 cm)
Cap color

Charcoal burner

VioletOliveBrown

Green brittlegill

Olive
Cap shape

Charcoal burner

Depressed

Green brittlegill

Depressed
Cap surface

Charcoal burner

Smooth

Green brittlegill

Smooth
Taste

Charcoal burner

Mild

Green brittlegill

Mild
Smell

Charcoal burner

Pleasant

Green brittlegill

Pleasant
Flesh color change

Charcoal burner

No change

Green brittlegill

Yellowing
Hymenophore

Charcoal burner

Gilled

Green brittlegill

Gilled
Stem

Charcoal burner

Central

Green brittlegill

Central
Ring (veil)

Charcoal burner

No ring

Green brittlegill

No ring
Volva

Charcoal burner

No volva

Green brittlegill

No volva
Substrate

Charcoal burner

Soil

Green brittlegill

Soil
Nutrition type

Charcoal burner

Mycorrhizal

Green brittlegill

Mycorrhizal
Partner trees

Charcoal burner

BeechOakHornbeamBirchSpruce

Green brittlegill

BirchPine

📅 Seasonality

Charcoal burner

Fruiting season

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

July – October

Green brittlegill

Fruiting season

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

July – October

🔬 Morphology

Cap

Charcoal burner

Cap 5-15 cm across, when young hemispherical, with age becoming flattened with a slightly depressed center. The cap skin is smooth, slimy in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather, peeling 2/3 of the way to the center. Color very variable — violet-blue, green-gray, olive-violet, brownish violet with yellow patches. In a single cluster of fruiting bodies you'll often see caps in different shades. Deeper in the center, paler toward the margin, with fine radial grooves.

Green brittlegill

Cap 5-10 cm across, when young convex with an inrolled margin, with age becoming flattened with a slightly depressed center. The cap skin is smooth, slimy in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather, peels easily 2/3 of the way to the center. Color: gray-green, grass-green, olive-green, deeper toward dark green at the center, paler toward the margin and fading to grayish. In mature specimens the margin has fine radial grooves.

Hymenophore

Charcoal burner

Gilled hymenophore — gills adnate or free from the stem, partly forked near the stem, moderately crowded. UNIQUE FEATURE: the gills are flexible and springy and don't break when pressed — run your finger over them and they bend and spring back (unlike all other brittlegills, whose gills are brittle and crumbly). Color pure white to creamy white. Spore print white.

Green brittlegill

Gilled hymenophore — the gills are attached or free from the stem, moderately crowded, thin, brittle. Color: white at first, cream with a pale ochre tinge with age. Spore print creamy white to pale ochre.

Stem

Charcoal burner

Stem 5-10 cm tall, 1.5-3 cm thick, firm, fleshy, cylindrical, with a small cavity in old specimens. Color white to cream, sometimes with a faint violet tinge toward the base. Surface smooth with fine lengthwise wrinkles. No ring, no volva.

Green brittlegill

Stem 4-8 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, firm, cylindrical, hollow inside in old specimens. Color: white to creamy white, without noticeable spots. Surface smooth with fine lengthwise wrinkles. No ring, no volva — a key distinguishing feature from the death cap.

Flesh

Charcoal burner

Flesh firm, fleshy, pure white, does not change color when cut — a characteristic of the species. Smell faint, pleasant, fruity-mushroomy, taste mild, sweetish and nutty, with no bitterness or acridity.

Green brittlegill

Flesh firm, brittle, white, when cut does not change color or slowly turns yellow. Smell faint, pleasant, fruity-mushroomy, taste mild, with no bitterness or acridity (tongue test).

Smell

Charcoal burner

Faint, pleasant, fruity-mushroomy, neutral.

Green brittlegill

Faint, pleasant, fruity-mushroomy, nothing sharp.

📍 Habitats

Charcoal burner

Deciduous forestMixed forest

Green brittlegill

Deciduous forestMixed forest

👀 Similar mushrooms — don't mix them up!

❓ Frequently asked questions

Can Charcoal burner and Green brittlegill be mixed up?
Yes, they look so similar that people often mix them up. The use, cap color, flesh color change help tell them apart.
How to tell Charcoal burner from Green brittlegill?
The main differences: use: Charcoal burner — cook fresh, pickling, drying, Green brittlegill — cook fresh, pickling; cap color: Charcoal burner — violet, olive, brown, Green brittlegill — olive; flesh color change: Charcoal burner — no change, Green brittlegill — yellowing. The full table of characteristics is higher up on this page.
Is Green brittlegill edible?
Green brittlegill — edible.
When do Charcoal burner and Green brittlegill grow?
Charcoal burner — July–October; Green brittlegill — July–October. Their seasons overlap, so be especially careful.

Sources

  • [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
  • [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
  • [3]MycoBank Database
  • [4]Index Fungorum
  • [5]GBIF
  • [6]iNaturalist Ukraine