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Firm Russula
(Russula compacta)
firm

Firm
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Firm Russula sculpture

Firm Russula

sculpture, acrylic paint
One of the most beautiful Russulas, this one has a cap that's yellow-orange on the periphery, changing to red-orange toward the center. The convex cap, with its incurved margin and center indentation, is 1-3/8 to 7 inches across, sticky when wet, and quite firm, not shattering readily as do other Russulas.

Firm Russula, from above

Firm Russula, from above
The white to pale yellowish gills attach to the stem. They may be crowded together or distant from each other.

Firm Russula from below

Firm Russula, side view

Note the cap's yellowish periphery and reddish center.

The spore print is white.

The dingy white stalk is 1-5 inches long, 3/8 to 1-3/4 inches thick; solid when young, become hollow in age. There's no ring or skirt.
Firm Russula, from below

Firm Russula, from below

This mushroom is common in beech-maple and coniferous forests throughout eastern North America in mid- and late summer.

Its taste ranges from unpleasantly bitter to awfully bitter. This is not a mushroom you're going to want to try.