[Sidenote: =Generic characters=]
Among the wild species of mushrooms which the novice might possibly
mistake for the common "mushroom" of the markets--which is popularly
supposed to be the _only edible_ variety, as distinguished from
"toadstools"--is the Russula group. They are extremely frequent in our
woods from spring to late autumn, and have many features in common.
Their caps vary in color from a gray-green, suggesting cheese-mould, to
olive-red, scarlet-red, and purplish. The gills are generally of the
same length, or practically so, occasionally double-branched, beginning
at the stem and usually extending to the rim of the cap, at which
portion they are covered by the mere skin of the pileus, a slightly
fluted appearance being observable from above, which indicates the
location of the radiating laminæ below (Plate 12, fig. 6).
The stem may be white or cream-colored, or perhaps stained or mottled
with the color of the cap.
[Sidenote: =Principal species=]
There are at least four of these edible Russulæ that we are certain of
meeting in our walks in the woods: The green Russula (_R. virescens_),
with its mottled cap of mouldy or sage green; the various-gilled
Russula (_R. heterophylla_), varying in the lengths of its gill plates;
the purple Russula (_R. lepida_), whose cap varies from bright red to
dull purple; and the red Russula (_R. alutacea_), which presents a
variety of shades of red, from bright to dull. Having once identified
the Russula as a group, or the common characteristics of the genus, we
may take our pick from all of these delicious species for the table;
but we must avoid one other member of the genus, also quite common, and
which frequently masquerades in the guise of some of the bright red
varieties above mentioned. This is the _R. emetica_, whose obnoxious
qualities are indicated by its classical surname, and which will be
separately considered.
[Illustration: RUSSULA VIRESCENS
(Showing mottled cap of occasional specimen, and variations in gills. 1
even; 2 forked; 3 dimidiate.)]