Russulas: Order Russulales

According to the Dictionary of Fungi (10th edition 2008), the order Russulales contains 12 families and 1767 species. By far the best known members of this group are the Russulas and the Lactarius mushrooms.

Of note, the russuloid agarics also represent an independent evolutionary line of agarics, not directly related to the Agaricales. This is a relatively new finding. Some older texts, such as Mushrooms Demystified, place the families in the Russulales in the Agaricales. 

Taxonomy and Classification 

The following families are found in the Russulales order:

• Albatrellaceae
• Amylostereaceae
• Auriscalpiaceae
• Bondarzewiaceae
• Echinodontiaceae
• Hericiaceae
• Hybogasteraceae
• Lachnocladiaceae
• Peniophoraceae
• Russulaceae
• Gloeocystidiellaceae
• Stereaceae

Other infomation on the Russulales

• Russulales Website
• Russulales News
• Miller, S. L., T. M. McClean,  J. F. Walker and B. Buyck.  2001. A molecular phylogeny of the Russulales including agaricoid, gasteroid and pleurotoid taxa.  Mycologia 93: 344-354.
• Miller, S. L. and B. Buyck.  2002. Molecular phylogeny of the genus Russula in Europe with a comparison of modern infrageneric classifications.  Mycological Research 106:259-276.
• Miller, S. L., M. C. Aime and T. W. Henkel. 2002.  Russulaceae from the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana. I. New species of pleurotoid Lactarius.  Mycologia 94: 545-553.
• Bergemann, S. E. and S. L. Miller.  2002. Size, distribution, and persistence of genets in the late-stage ectomycorrhizal fungus, Russula brevipes.  New Phytologist 156: 313-320.