Fishy Purple Russula     SubSection

This 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.

Flesh 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

No latex
Cap usually brighter colored than Lactarius
Stalk usually white or tinged with color of cap

Cap with at least some purple, lilac, vinaceous or magenta coloring

Mundane Purple Russula     Section Cap color solid, or changing smoothly and universally from center to margin

Links from Look-alikes Bruising Red Russula     Section Stem changes color to grey or black when bruised, perhaps with a red phase first

Diagnosis

• Old or crushed flesh (try sniffing the gills) smell of fish or seafood that's starting to go bad
  
• Flesh stains deep olive green with FeSO4
  
• Stem bruises and ages brown

• Gills and spore print typically light ochre
  
• Taste mild

Narrow down your identification:

Cap up to 2 1/2" across; carmine to vinaceous to blackish purple; often slightly rugulose; peeling up to 1/2 of the way to the center
Gills creamy ochre; cross-veined
Stem sometimes flushed with pink

Cap up to 4 1/2" across; pale to dark vinaceous, often redder or browner; peeling only at the margin
Stem usually colored like cap, but lighter
Under conifers

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