Russula bicolor

Russula bicolor

Cap 4-8cm across, convex then flattened; surface copper red mixed with yellow-orange or pale ochre; smooth, viscid when wet; cuticle separable for one-quarter of radius. Gills sub-crowded, broad; white. Stem 30-70 x 10-20mm, spongy; white. Flesh white. Odor not distinctive. Taste acrid. Spores ovoid, 8-10 x (6)7-8µ; warts less than 0.5µ, almost no connecting lines. Deposit white (A). Habitat particularly under birch. Found in both eastern and western North America.
Russula bicolor I'm pretty sure this is the correct ID, but beyond the name and general description, information is hard to find...(and something bad has happened to Roger's Mushrooms! - it's down) I think it is closely related to Russula emetica, but I'm not sure what exactly is meant by R. emetica group. I think that in the past this was considered to be R. emetica, but that now it is either suspected or known to be a distinct species? In any case this is known colloquially as "the sickener" - it won't kill you if you eat it, but it will make you vomit... Roger's Mushrooms is back! info from his website Fall,Geotagged,Russula bicolor,United States

Appearance

fungus colour: Red or redish or pink, Orange
normal size: 5-15cm
cap type: Convex to shield shaped
stem type: Simple stem
flesh: Flesh granular or brittle, Mushroom slimy or sticky
spore colour: White, cream or yellowish
Russula bicolor A lovely pale tinted Russula bicolor - very pretty but don't taste. These can be hot like chili pepper, some hot enough to blister your mouth. Fall,Geotagged,Russula bicolor,United States

Distribution

North America

Habitat

Grows in woods, Grows on the ground

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5759~gid~~source~gallerydefault.asp
Taxonomy
KingdomFungi
DivisionBasidiomycota
ClassAgaricomycetes
OrderRussulales
FamilyRussulaceae
GenusRussula
SpeciesRussula bicolor
Photographed in
United States of America