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
White, Black or Deep Brown Russula Subgenus
Diagnosis
- Only cap colors white to cream or buff, or dark brown to black
Narrow down your identification:
Blackening White Russula Section- Cap and flesh starting out white or creamy, bruising or aging dark brown or black
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Break the mushroom open to judge this feature: see if the flesh changes color. The color change can take up to 20 minutes, so be patient
Unchanging White/Black Russula Section- Cap and flesh color constant
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Stem (only!) perhaps aging or bruising a different color, but only slightly, and not a really dark one
