The spore-print varies, depending on the species involved, from white to deep ochre and individual spores are covered in a coarse ornamentation which is composed of isolated warts or warts interconnected by raised lines, or mixtures of both. The ornamentation stains deep blue-black when the spores are mounted in solutions containing iodine and the pattern which is produced appears in many cases to be of a specific character. The majority of the species, if not all north-temperate species are mycorrhizal and the familiar host-tree fungus relationship can be recognised:-- _R. claroflava_ Grove, with birch in boggy places, _R. emetica_ (Fries) S. F. Gray with pine in wet places, _R. betularum_ Hora with birch in grassy copses and _R. sardonia_ Fries with pines. Brief notes are here included giving the basic characters of eight common species, but it must be appreciated the identification of many species within this genus is difficult. ~R. atropurpurea~ (Krombholz) Britz. Blackish purple russula _Cap_: width 50-100 mm. _Stem_: width 14-25 mm; length 60-80 mm. Cap: deep reddish purple but becoming spotted with either cream-colour or white blotches. Stem: white but becoming flushed greyish or stained brownish with age. Gills: white then very pale yellow. Flesh: white in cap and stem. Spore-print: white. On the ground in mixed woods and copses, particularly those containing oak. [Illustration: Plate 7. Fleshy but brittle fungi: Spores whitish and borne on gills] ~Russula cyanoxantha~ (Secretan) Fries _Cap_: width 50-150 mm. _Stem_: width 10-30 mm; length 50-100 mm. Cap: lilac, bluish to purple often with green tints. Stem: pure white. Gills: pure white. Flesh: white. Spore-print: white. Common in deciduous woods, especially beech-woods. ~R. emetica~ (Fries) S. F. Gray Emetic russula _Cap_: width 50-100 mm. _Stem_: width 8-15 mm; length 25-70 mm. Cap: bright scarlet fading with age to become spotted pinkish, slightly viscid when moist. Stem: spongy, fragile. Flesh: white. Gills: pure white. Spore-print: pure white. In pine woods usually in boggy areas. ~R. fellea~ (Fries) Fries Geranium-scented russula _Cap_: width 40-75 mm. _Stem_: width 10-20 mm; length 30-75 mm. Cap: tacky when fresh, straw-coloured or pale tawny brown. Stem: similarly coloured to the cap. Gills and flesh: pale straw-colour and smelling of House Geraniums (i.e. Pelargoniums). Spore-print: cream-coloured. Common under beech. ~R. foetens~ (Fries) Fries Foetid russula _Cap_: width 70-170 mm. _Stem_: width 15-30 mm; length 50-90 mm. Cap: slimy, dingy yellow to tawny, margin strongly furrowed and ornamented with raised bumps. Stem: whitish then flushed or spotted with rust-brown. Gills: straw-coloured, often spotted brown with age and beaded with watery droplets when growing under moist conditions.