Russula sanguinea  (Bull.) Fr. (1838)
Syn: Russula sanguinaria

For many the "Bloody Russula" is the quintessential Russula -- red, ubiquitous and acrid... An id mistake against he Shrimp Russula can easily be corrected as this species is rather hot. Russula sanguinea is Cosmopolitan species and is broadly distributed in the Northern hemisphere. It seems to do well in both Natural and manmade habitats like Parks, under a number of native and non-native Pine trees.

Unstable pigmentation -- the whitish fruitbodies are subjected to a water stream from sprinklers in the park and every year half of them turn whitish... "Russula with a Hat", or "A Baby Russula on Her Shoulders". I have seen this stacked phenomenon several times.

Spore ornamentation. Hymenial cystidia -- not particularly useful for identification of Russula, but fun to look at...