Home / Russulas & milkcaps / TM0054
Red Russula, uprooted on the trail
Russula sp. Genus
Angles captured. Five frames of a fruitbody lying loose on the trail, showing cap, stipe and base together.
Morphology
Cap 6–7 cm, bright scarlet to orange-red, the thin cuticle already lifting and peeling to expose white flesh. Gills white, brittle. Stipe pure white, stout, and broken cleanly across — showing the characteristic crumbly, chalk-like Russula texture rather than fibrous tearing.
Habitat & substrate
Lying on a bare compacted trail surface, evidently dislodged. Original substrate unknown.
Lookalikes & what rules them out
The clean chalky break of the stipe is close to diagnostic for the genus.
To confirm this identification
Taste and spore print, as with TM0049. The bright red cap plus white stipe puts this near the emetica group, several of which are acrid and cause stomach upset.
Notes
Being uprooted is a gift here — the broken stipe shows the brittle texture better than any intact specimen in the guide.
Found at Leominster State Forest, Leominster, MA on Thursday, 6 August 2026 at 11:30. See the full walk for that day's weather and everything else recorded.
Others in this group
Rosy-capped mushroom on a mossy logRussula sp. · Oct 25Moderate
Red Russula at an oak baseRussula sp. · Jul 23High for genus
Yellow-capped RussulaRussula sp. · Jul 31Moderate
Salmon-pink Russula on mossRussula sp. · Jul 31Moderate
Cluster with cracked orange-brown capsLactifluus or Lactarius · Jul 31Moderate
Rose-red Russula on mossRussula sp. · Aug 1High for genus
Large grey-brown brittlegillRussula sp. · Aug 1Moderate
Rosy cap with orange gillsLactarius sp. · Aug 6Moderate