Spore print "light-colored": white or buff, sometimes tinged with pink or tan. Greenish and (except for the Russulales) yellow spore prints also go here
Stalk fibrous, not fracturing like a piece of chalk
Here are the characters that distinguish this species from the others in its group. For its more general characters, see higher up on the page. If there's just a few words or a microscopic feature here, a more thorough description can be found above.
The cap can get so big that it falls apart under its own weight when you try to pick it
This is not a recommended edible. It is often bitter (or just foul-tasting), and even when not so it is not delicious. Some people have also gotten sick from it
3
This is the only species in this genus in the northern temperate zone. It is quite common on the east coast, west to Iowa, according to Lincoff(1987) , uncommon west of Ohio, according to A. E. Bessette, D. W. Fischer & A. R. Bessette(1997) . This (2001) has been a banner year for it in the midwest
When it gets older, the gill edges get very irregular, and I have mistaken it for a Lentinus in this condition