Russula amethystina is a conspicuous mushroom, which appears sporadically from mid-summer until the autumn under spruce

Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

 and fir

Fir

Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...

 trees. In Northern Europe

Northern Europe

Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...

, it is very rare. It is edible

Edible mushroom

Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...

, but not very easy to distinguish from similarly coloured Russula

Russula

Around 750 worldwide species of mycorrhizal mushrooms compose the genus Russula. They are typically common, fairly large, and brightly colored - making them one of the most recognizable genera among mycologists and mushroom collectors...

species, and practically identical to Russula turci

Russula turci

Russula turci is a common, edible, Russula mushroom, found under pines and spruces, on sandy soil and clay.-Description:The cap is flat when young, matures to be somewhat funnel shaped, dark amethyst-violet to brownish pink. The margin is paler and noticeably matt...

from which it can only be distinguished by microscopic differences in spore

Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...

texture. A mistake would not be very grave, however, since there are no deadly poisonous mushrooms in the genus Russula.

Description

• The cap can be up to 12 cm in diameter and varies in colour between violet, lilac, wine-red and wine-red-brown.
• The cap skin can be pulled off from the edge, right to the centre.
• The gills are from cream to bright yellow. Spore print is cream to light orange.
• The hollow stipe is initially white, later becoming yellowish or brownish.