This species is related to Russula delica, but is easily distinguished by its short stem and crowded gills. The pileus also is not shining and the taste is tardily somewhat acrid. From Lactarius exsuccus it is separated by the character of the gills and the very short stem which is about as broad as it is long. The spores also are larger than in that species. The gills in the young plant are sometimes studded with drops of water. They are not clearly decurrent. Some of them are forked at the base. The pileus is but slightly raised above the surface of the ground and is generally soiled by adhering dirt and often marked by rusty or brownish stains. The plants grew in old roads in the woods where the soil had been trodden and compacted. _Peck_, 43d Rep. N.Y. State Bot. West Virginia, 1882; Pennsylvania, 1887–1894; New Jersey, 1892. Solitary in pine and hemlock woods, generally on bare, compact ground. August to October. _McIlvaine._ This species is a sparse grower, but its good size and respectable numbers soon fill the basket. When fresh it is of good substance and flavor. =R. del´ica= Fr.—_delicus_, weaned. (Milkless, juiceless in gills.) =White.= =Pileus= 3–5 in. broad, fleshy throughout, firm, umbilicate then infundibuliform, regular, everywhere even, smooth with a _whitish luster_, the involute margin without striæ. =Flesh= firm, juiceless, not very thick, white. =Stem= curt, 1–2 in. long, ½ in. and more thick, solid, even, smooth, white. =Gills= _decurrent, thin, distant_, very unequal, white, exuding small watery drops in wet weather. _Fries._ =Spores= minutely echinulate, white, broadly elliptical, 8–10×6–7µ _Massee_. In appearance it resembles Lactarius vellereus and L. piperatus, but its gills do not distill milk or juice. It differs, too, in its mild taste. It is related to R. brevipes Pk. A large, coarse species, cup-shaped at maturity. I have found it in several localities in Massachusetts in July and August. It is of fair quality cooked, but much inferior to R. virescens, etc. _Macadam._ West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, in mixed woods, August to October. _McIlvaine._ Edible. Taste mild. From the juiceless variety of L. vellereus its mild taste alone furnishes a separate character. _Peck._ I have eaten it since 1882, but it is not a favorite. Its quality is fair. =R. sor´dida= Pk.—dirty. (Plate XLIV, fig. 4, p. 184.) =Pileus= firm, convex, centrally depressed, dry, sordid-white, sometimes clouded with brown. =Gills= close, white, some of them forked. =Stem= equal, solid, concolorous. =Spores= globose, 7.5µ. Taste acrid. =Flesh= changing color when wounded, becoming black or bluish-black. =Plant= 4–5 in. high. =Pileus= 3–5 in. broad. =Stem= 6–12 lines thick. Ground under hemlock trees. Worcester. July. It resembles L. piperatus in general appearance. The whole plant turns black in drying. _Peck_, 26th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.