The taste is mild, but also nauseous, as the odor often is. The habit is that of R. nitida, of the same color of pileus, but differing in the color of the gills. Fries.
Cap about 2 in. across. Stem 1–2 in. long, ¼-½ in. thick.
Spores dingy yellow, 8–9µ diameter. Massee.
North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Schweinitz; West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, in pine and mixed woods. August to October. McIlvaine.
The odor and taste of R. nauseosa are misnamed, therefore the plant. They are heavy at times, when the plant is wet or old, as is the case with R. fœtens, but they are always of cherry bark. Both odor and taste disappear in cooking. The species is as good as any Russula of its texture.
R. vitelli´na Fr.—vitellus, yolk of egg. Pileus 1 in. broad, uni-colorous, light yellow then wholly pallid, somewhat membranaceous, at length tuberculoso-striate, somewhat dry, disk very small, slightly fleshy. Stem thin, scarcely exceeding 1 in. long, 2 lines thick, equal. Gills separating-free, equal, distant, rather thick, connected by veins, saffron-yellow.
Pretty, very fragile, strong-smelling, mild. Fries.
Spores 7–8µ diameter Massee.
West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, August to October. In pine and mixed woods, July to October. Not common in number.
This pretty species has a cherry-bark taste and smell like R. fœtens, though not so offensively heavy. It is not poisonous. A small piece of it will affect a whole dish of other Russulæ.