Russula rubescens Beardslee.
Cap 5-9cm, convex then flattened, thin-fleshed, striate at margin; scarlet red; dull, dry. Gills rather crowded, forking near base; pale cream. Stem 30-80 x 5-l0mm, equal; white, turning red when scratched; then black. Flesh white then gray-black. Odor pleasant. Taste mild. Spores ovoid, 7-10 x 6-8µ; warts up to 1.5µ, high, connectives few or absent. Deposit pale yellow (E-F). Habitat in wet, deciduous woodlands, especially oak. Locally common. Found in eastern North America. Season August-September. Edibility not known. Comment The very similar Russula nigrescentipes Pk. differs in its more crowded, white gills, and blackening stem without the initial red change.