Russulaceae Mushrooms in Florida

Russulaceae is a large and varied family of fungi that contains over 1,900 species. Some, but not all, of these species are edible, but they are incredibly hard to tell apart from other species, so DO NOT EAT THEM.

Follow Phillip

@majikphil

One feature common to all members of the family is gills on the underside of the mushroom cap, but pretty much all other aspects including color and size are highly variable between species.

TOXICITY

There are some excellent edible mushrooms in the Russulaceae family, some of which can even be eaten raw. However, the family also includes inedible mushrooms, which can cause gastrointestinal upset. What's more, there are also some deadly toxic species in Russulaceae, like Russula subnigricans. Ingestion of Russula subnigricans can cause very severe rhabdomyolysis, and this mushroom is a major culprit in mushroom poisoning in Taiwan and Japan.

This particular species could be Lactarius hygrophoroides or Lactarius piperatus (sometimes called "Peppery Milk-cap"). I couldn't be sure. I usually check my photos against the University of South Florida's Florida Fungi page and see if I see anything similar. For now we'll just call these Russula spp.

Regardless of the mushrooms identification that is definitely a slug having a little snack atop the larger mushroom.  This slug is most likely the Florida leatherleaf slug (Leidyula floridana) found in large numbers in wooded areas.  There are few endemic species of terrestrial snails in Florida but there are a half dozen introduced species. All potentially carry the nematode that causes rat lungworm disease so best not to pick up slugs found in Florida.

We're Watching

Free Fall

now streaming on Hulu

The German Brokeback Mountain

Free Fall (2013), called by some the German Brokeback Mountain, depicts an affair between Marc (Hanno Koffler), a police cadet with a pregnant wife, and Kay (Sense8's Max Riemelt), another cadet on his team.  Riemelt steals most of the scenes with his electric onscreen presence and in some cases his impressive physical attributes that were first debuted for a world audience on Netflix's Sense8.  The film is well-worth watching if only to see Max stride out of the shower at his police barracks and make a bad gay joke in front of his homophobic colleagues and attackers.  He obviously has the upper hand in the nude scenes that have in some ways come to define his career.

Free Fall is reminiscent of Brokeback Mountain but in a modern and surprisingly (for an American viewer) homophobic Germany. Consider this scene in Free Fall. Marc has been concealing his affair from Bettina (Katharina Schüttler), his pregnant wife, and his cell phone rings during an intimate breakfast. At first, Marc ignores the call, but when Bettina encourages him to answer, he takes the call in another room and whispers silently to Kay that he can’t talk. The camera remains on Bettina’s face, who can hear the whispers and suspects something is wrong. I’m fairly certain that this is one of the most overused narrative devices in cinema history, and that by this point, Marc would have at least seen enough movies to know not to take the call in another room, not to whisper suspiciously while Bettina sits at the breakfast table, and not to return to breakfast like nothing has happened.

One of Max Riemelt's scene-stealing nude scenes from Netflix's Sense8.  Netflix says it will not bring back Sense8 despite massive audience demand because it is too expensive.  Maybe someone else will pick up the story?

My biggest disappointment in the film was the ending which presupposes the heteronormative narrative that these guys can't find a way to be happy.  There are happy endings in LBGTQ+ land, but not in Free Fall.  Maybe with Free Fall 2 (just announced) there will be a happy reunion?