RUSSULA brevipes var. brevipes Peck has a fairly large white cap with a central depression and a strongly inrolled margin that expands with age. It has white crowded attached gills that bruise brown with handling. It has a very squat stipe. It is not unusual to see the center of fruting bodies wearing forest debris as they push up through the soil. Mild to somewhat acrid (slowly) tasting. Inedible. It is frequently confused with the various white Lactarius species, especially Lactarius deceptivus, but unlike them, does not exude latex. Cap skin resists peeling. Found in mixed coniferous-deciduous woods in summer and autumn. Frequently is parasitized by the ascomycete, Hypomyces lactifluorum. It is in the Russulaceae family of the Russulales.
Russula brevipes
Russula brevipes exhibiting cracking of the cap surface.