Russula perplexa

Key to Gilled Mushrooms Key

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.

Russulales Suborder

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

Russula Genus

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

Red Russula Subgenus

Cap red or pink, with perhaps some yellow or orange mixed in

Non-bruising Red Russula Section

Flesh not changing color when bruised, or changing to brown (instead of black)

Mild Red Russula SubSection

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.

Diagnosis

Cap up to 4" across; deep red or carmine, with disk sometimes coral to apricot; pruinose; peeling nearly all the way to the center
Odor sometimes sour when old