Russula vesca, also known as The Flirt, is a medium to large Russula with a cap that varies from violet to buff in colour. A distinctive feature is its cuticle, which shrinks from the margin. It possesses pale cream gills and a whitish stem. This mushroom grows either solitarily or in scattered groups on the soil under broadleaf trees

Cap variable from violaceous to buff, generally pallid, sometimes with a greenish tinge It is first convex, becoming flattened-convex and later slightly depressed. The cuticle is peeling halfway to the centre and retracting from the margin. The flesh is white, brittle and firm.Gills adnexed, with a white colour or a very pale cream hue. They are spaced relatively close together, splitting in a forked manner close to the stem. Stem whitish sometimes with a violaceous tinge and more or less equal in width. The stem flesh is white, stuffed, firm and brittle. The stem has no ring. Spore print white.

Microscopic Features: The spores are ovoid (egg-shaped), measuring 6.4-8 x 5.3-5.8µm. They have warts up to 0.5µm tall, often separate but occasionally connected.

Note: It is unclear to me whether this species occurs in North America. Some sources say it does, while others say it does not.

Russula vesca on the www.first-nature.com web site.