Winecork brittlegill or Menthol brittlegill
Winecork brittlegill and Menthol brittlegill are similar species: Winecork brittlegill is conditionally edible, while Menthol brittlegill is inedible. The main visible difference: smell: Winecork brittlegill — earthy, unpleasant, Menthol brittlegill — pleasant.
Not sure? Identify by photoSide by side
| Characteristic | Winecork brittlegill | Menthol brittlegill |
|---|---|---|
| Edibility class | Winecork brittlegill: Conditionally edible | Menthol brittlegill: Edible |
| Use | Winecork brittlegill: Salting | Menthol brittlegill: Pickling, Cook fresh |
| Size | Winecork brittlegill: Medium (5–15 cm), Large (over 15 cm) | Menthol brittlegill: Medium (5–15 cm) |
| Cap colour | Winecork brittlegill: Grey, Brown, Dark brown, White | Menthol brittlegill: White, Grey, Black |
| Cap shape | Winecork brittlegill: Convex, Flat, Depressed, Funnel-shaped | Menthol brittlegill: Depressed |
| Cap surface | Winecork brittlegill: Smooth, Slimy | Menthol brittlegill: Smooth |
| Taste | Winecork brittlegill: Mild, Sweet | Menthol brittlegill: Mild |
| Smell | Winecork brittlegill: Earthy, Unpleasant | Menthol brittlegill: Pleasant |
| Flesh colour change | Winecork brittlegill: Reddening, Darkens | Menthol brittlegill: Darkens |
| Stem | Winecork brittlegill: Central, Solid | Menthol brittlegill: Central |
| Substrate | Winecork brittlegill: Soil, Conifer needle litter | Menthol brittlegill: Soil |
| Partner trees | Winecork brittlegill: Pine, Fir, Spruce | Menthol brittlegill: Beech, Hornbeam, Fir, Spruce |
Same in both: season, hymenophore, nutrition type, growth habit.
When and where they meet
Together: July–October
What they look like
Cap, Hymenophore, Stem, Flesh, Smell
Cap
Winecork brittlegill
The cap is 5–15 cm across, occasionally up to 20. It starts convex, then flattens, develops a dip in the centre and in old specimens becomes almost funnel-shaped.
Young caps are dirty white or greyish buff, then grey-brown and smoky brown, and dark brown to blackish in old mushrooms. The surface is smooth, slightly sticky and shiny when damp, and the margin is even, without grooves.
Menthol brittlegill
The cap is 6-15 cm across, hemispherical to flat with an inrolled margin when young, later becoming funnel-shaped. It's pure white when young, turning grey, ash-grey, then blackish with age. The surface is smooth and slightly sticky in wet weather.
Hymenophore
Winecork brittlegill
The gills are narrow and of unequal length, with many short ones in between, sometimes forked, and attached to the stem or running slightly down it. They start white, turn greyish, and darken where pressed. Sources describe the gills as both close and widely spaced, so don't rely on spacing.
The spore print is white.
Menthol brittlegill
The gills are attached to the stem and moderately crowded (unlike R. nigricans, where they're distant). They're whitish when young and blacken, usually with no red stage when damaged. The spore print is white.
Stem
Winecork brittlegill
The stem is 3–6 cm tall, up to 11 cm in large specimens, and 1–3 cm thick. It is hard, cylindrical and smooth, the colour of the cap but paler, and it darkens when handled. The base is often massive, wrinkled and folded.
There is no ring, no volva and no veil remnants.
Menthol brittlegill
The stem is 3-7 cm tall and 1.5-3 cm thick, stout and cylindrical. It's white when young, grey to blackish with age. The surface is smooth, with no ring.
Flesh
Winecork brittlegill
The flesh is white, firm and hard. When broken it slowly turns faintly pink over half an hour, then pale smoky grey, but never black as in the blackening brittlegill. There is no milk. The taste is mild and sweetish, sometimes slightly sharp.
Menthol brittlegill
The flesh is firm, fleshy and white when young. When cut, it usually blackens to grey-black, with no noticeable red stage, which is the main, though not absolute, difference from R. nigricans. The smell is faint, pleasant and mushroomy.
Smell
Winecork brittlegill
The smell is noticeable and distinctive: musty, like an old empty wine cask, and some describe it as mouldy. This is what gave the mushroom its English name.
Menthol brittlegill
Faint, pleasant, mushroomy, with no distinctive notes.
Related comparisons
Sources · 13
- [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [3]MycoBank Database
- [4]Index Fungorum
- [5]GBIF
- [6]iNaturalist Ukraine
- [7]Mushrooms (Roger Phillips), Roger Phillips
- [8]Википедия (русская): Подгруздок чёрный
- [9]Wikipedia (en): Russula subnigricans
- [10]Pierotti A. Genere Russula, parte 1: sottogeneri Compactae, Ingratula. NaturaMediterraneo, 2007, Pierotti A. (2007)
- [11]Matsuura M. et al. Identification of the toxic trigger in mushroom poisoning. Nature Chemical Biology, 2009, 5(7): 465–467, Matsuura M. et al. (2009)
- [12]Cho J.T., Han J.H. A case of mushroom poisoning with Russula subnigricans: development of rhabdomyolysis, acute kidney injury, cardiogenic shock, and death. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 2016, 31(7): 1164–1167, Cho J.T., Han J.H. (2016)
- [13]Wu L. et al. Clinical characteristics in Russula subnigricans poisoning: a retrospective study of 103 cases. Frontiers in Toxicology, 2026, 8: 1815129, Wu L. et al. (2026)