USA, Washington, Clallam, Boulder Creek, Olympic Mountains, Olympic National Forest
47.978 -123.748
GNIS
Bull. Soc. Mycol. France 1938 54: 140. Notes and info on the digital images by Christine Roberts, University of Victoria (UVIC) available from Nov. 2003 and copied to Mycoportal Feb. 2015: "Additional observations and illustrations of the Russula smithii Singer holotype number 2466. Examined: one specimen, small section of cutis from about half radius, one piece of gill tissue, small piece of cutis of one of the broken off pieces, which are both from near the cap margin. Reactions to Sulphovanillin: gills, red with no darkening at all of the hymenial cystidia beyond the overall red. Cutis brown, no pileocystidia seen, no elements staining positively (grey, black or blue). Cuticle: hyphal ends emanating from interwoven layer, not forming a regular turf, just irregular free articulated hairs, semi-repent, basal inflated cells not seen (as in many Heterophyllae). Hyphal ends around 2.5 – 7.5μm, the terminal cell frequently narrowing towards the tip. No refractive contents in any elements, no vascular hyphae seen, no granular cytoplasmic pigments, nor incrustations seen. Gills: Gill trama of sphaerocytes, subhymenium well developed, 40-60μm thick, interwoven. Ripe basidia and cystidia protruding well beyond basidioles, to 1/3 – ½ their length. Basidia 2 or 4 spored, clavate, around 55 x 11-12μm. Pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia numerous, thin-walled, empty or with refractive contents towards the tip in 3% KOH, around 65-85 μm long, width very variable, 5- 17μm. Shapes range from irregular to cylindrical, to clavate to fusoid, often with pinched sections. Tips are capitate, bluntly rounded, elongated, or broadly acute. Cystidoid hairs from the gill edge are an unusual character in Russula. They are not frequent, but are distinctive, and may have refractive contents in the terminal cell. They are narrowly clavate, septate, with around 4 to 8 septae, sometimes with a side appendage or outgrowth, around 70-90μm long and up to 11μm wide. Spores with lightly amyloid plage of irregular outline bordered by small warts. Ornamentation of rounded to peg-like warts, some incompletely amyloid, mostly isolated, occasionally two or three joined with lines, not forming a reticulum, small dots interspersed, warts mostly 0.5-0.8μm. Key to accompanying illustrations: R smithii cutisSV Surface view of cutis, grey appearence of some hyphae is artifact of refraction rather than staining. Mounted in Sulphovanillin, under 400x lens; R smithii cutis in Congo red Section of cutis showing densely interwoven layer and sparse free hyphal ends, stained in Congo red, mounted in 3%KOH, under 100x lens; R smithii epicutis in Congo red Epicutis showing articulated hyphal ends, stain: Congo red, 400x; R smithii gill section Cross section of the gill showing basidioles (b) and well developed subhymenium (s). Mounted in Meltzers reagent, 100x lens; R smithii chcy Edge of gill stained in Congo red, showing numerous cheilocystidia. Cystidoid hairs not apparent in this view, 400x lens; R smithii plcy Section of gill showing the numerous and diversely shaped pleurocystidia, mounted in 3%KOH, 400x lens; R smithii spore1-spore7 Each photo duo is of a spore or spores at two focus points so that the outline and upper surface is shown. Spore7 is a full-field view. Mounted in Meltzers reagent, using 1000x oil immersion lens. Note the graticule scale which is 100 divisions = 101μm.