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Upcoming Events | Meet the Instructors | Plant Archive | Mushroom Archive
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Upcoming Events | Meet the Instructors | Plant Archive | Mushroom Archive
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The Charcoal burner (Russula cyanoxantha) is an edible mushroom with a variable cap color. The cap color ranges from red and yellow to violet, blue-gray, and green.
![](https://eattheplanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/379936938_697661592411163_3906401162185919513_n-1.jpg)
The charcoal burner can have mycorrhizal relationships with both conifers and deciduous trees but is most often found under beeches. It fruits summer-fall.
![](https://eattheplanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/379841572_697661585744497_7756913856592859968_n.jpg)
The charcoal burner has soft and flexible gills, a unique feature for this genus. Spore print is white.
![](https://eattheplanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/380175341_697661589077830_2554599645767485113_n.jpg)
The mushroom has a mild, nutty flavor.
![](https://eattheplanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/379571940_697661595744496_6274819908040694348_n.jpg)
The charcoal burner looks similar to the also edible Russula variata which has forked gills and an acrid taste.
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Written by Amy Demers, founder of the Connecticut Foraging Club. To learn more about foraging in Connecticut, check out our upcoming classes.