A foetid Russula that grows in sand dunes near pines, often buried so deeply that only the sandy, slimy, yellowish-brown cap shows. Its thick, often swollen stem is covered in reddish-brown scurf, and the gill edges are often reddish. It smells of maraschino cherries or almonds and tastes acrid.
Along the Great Lakes shores and the Atlantic coast of North America (MushroomExpert).
Characteristics
Cap: 4.5-13 cm, convex becoming broadly convex to flat with a shallow depression; slimy when wet and fresh, with sand stuck to the surface; yellowish brown. Gills: attached, close; yellowish white, developing orangish or reddish edges. Stem: 2-10 cm long, 1.5-5 cm thick, often swollen in the middle, stuffed; white under a layer of reddish to brownish-red scurf that starts at the base. Flesh: whitish, slowly turning pale yellowish. Odor: weakly to moderately of maraschino cherries, almonds or benzaldehyde. Taste: acrid. Spore print: cream. Spores: 7-10 x 4.5-6 um (MushroomExpert).
