Short-stalked Russula
Look closely at the gills of this species and you will notice a turquoise tint to many of them and usually also a faint blue-green ring at the junction of stem a d cap. This feature sets it apart from the typical versions of the Russula brevipes group. Other features include the immediate hot (acrid) taste if sampled raw, and the copious cinnamon- brown staining of all parts of the fungus. It is likely the hot taste disappears on cooking, as happens with the occasional hot-tasting R. brevipes that lacks blue-green staining. The gills are broadly attached, close or crowded and in-rolled at the margins. The stalks are always short. Hence the common name. It is a conifer-associated species.