Key to Gilled Mushrooms KeyThis is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.
Russulales SuborderFlesh without fibers, fracturing with the same sort of break as a piece of chalk
Spore and gill color limited to white, yellow, or ochre
Mycorrhizal: occuring only on the ground, and only when there are trees nearby
No ring or volva on stalk
All fleshy-stemmed mushrooms whose gills exude a latex when cut go here
Russula GenusNo latex
Cap usually brighter colored than Lactarius
Stalk usually white or tinged with color of cap
Yellow to Brownish Russula SubgenusCap entirely yellow or light brown
Non-smelly Yellow Russula SectionNot foul-smelling or smelling of marzipan,
but it may have a fruity or other kind of odor
Bright Yellow Russula SubSection
Diagnosis
- Cap clearly yellow to straw-colored, not yellowish brown
Narrow down your identification:
Russula claroflavaGills, flesh and stem bruise dark grey (the picture is a little too dark, actually)
Cap up to 4" across; sometimes viscid; peeling 1/2-3/4 of the way to the center
In swampy woods, especially under birch
Russula flavicepsCap up to 4" across; amber-yellow to golden yellow; viscid; peeling 1/2 of the way to the center
Gills white, maturing pale yellow
Russula flavida
Russula xanthoCap up to 3 3/4" across; golden yellow, aging reddish orange; peeling 1/2 of the way to the center
Gills pale ochre edged with bright yellow
Stalk often flushed bright yellow
Spore print ochre
