- Proposed
- Under Assessment
- LCPreliminary Assessed
- 4Assessed
- 5Published
Russula hixsonii Murrill
- Scientific name
- Russula hixsonii
- Author
- Murrill
- Common names
- IUCN Specialist Group
Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball- Kingdom
- Fungi
- Phylum
- Basidiomycota
- Class
- Agaricomycetes
- Order
- Russulales
- Family
- Russulaceae
- Assessment status
- Preliminary Assessed
- Preliminary Category
- LC
- Proposed by
- David Lewis
- Assessors
- David Lewis
- Contributors
- Anders Dahlberg
Assessment Notes
Least concern because of recent large collections from Georgia.
Taxonomic notes
Described by William A. Murrill in 1943 from Alachua Co., Florida. Russula hixsonii has a large sized fruiting body with a roseous to incarnate colored cap, thick context and upon drying, an odor of freshly baked bread.
Why suggested for a Global Red List Assessment?
A rare species, known only from Newman’s Lake near Gainesville Florida and Crooked River State Park near St. Mary’s, Georgia. Arleen Bessette has also found it on Jekyll Island, GA and in the Harris Neck Wildlife Management Area south of Savannah in McIntosh County, GA. It is locally abundant when Arleen finds it. She suspects it will be found in SC. Perhaps it is not a Gulf Coast species, but an Atlantic Coast species?
Geographic range
Described by Murrill from Newman’s Lake near (Alachua Co.) Gainesville, Florida and recently (2011) found along the coastal region of Georgia by Bessette (2011).
Population and Trends
Buyck in 10 years of collecting in Florida and the Gulf States has never collected it and it has not been observed in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana or Texas with collecting and observations scanning a period of 60 years by many mycologists. However, Bessette has found large collections in several sites in coastal Georgia.
Population Trend: Improving
Habitat and Ecology
Found on a moist shaded slope near sweet gum, west of Newman’s Lake, near Gainesville, Florida during the fall (Murrill) and Singer with Quercus with some pines, Serrenao and Liquidambar, fruiting from May to October; in Georgia under Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) , Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) and Sweetgum (Liquidambar) in October.
Threats
Severe drought, hurricane damage and severe flooding may have affected the populations. Also the influx of invasive species such as Chinese Tallow-tree (Sapium sebiferum) and Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense ) may have influenced the overall ecology of the region. Urban sprawl in Florida may be a problem. Another problem is the destructive of plants and soil by feral hogs.
Conservation Actions
Species is found in State Parks and protected areas in Georgia.
Research needed
Buyck, Bessette & Adamčik’s study with modern techniques has updated the taxonomic position of this species. More extensive collecting along the Georgia coast and Florida would help understand its ecological role and extend its range.
Use and Trade
Bibliography
Murrill, W. A. 1943. More new fungi from Florida.
Lloydia 6: 207-228.
Hesler, L. R. 1960. A Study of Russula types.
Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 21:1-59.
Singer, R. 1957. New and interesting species of Basidiomycetes V.
Sydowia 11: 141-272.
Buyck, B., Arleen Bessette & S. Adamčík. 2011. Russula hixsonii Murrill, a rare and intriguing southern species of uncertain systematic position, rediscovered in Georgia, USA.
Cryptogamie Mycologie 32 (4): 403-412.
