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Russula, group maculata
This is as close as I'll get with identification of this mushroom. The genus Russula are one of the trickiest to pin an exact specie's name to, as there are many similar fruiting bodies that come in reds, pinks, and violets, that some would place in different species upon microscopic analysis (a $5 450X microscope will not get me far...). What makes me almost certain that this is of the group maculata is that the five colors that make it up are present in this spotting; red, pink, orange, yellowish-buff, and whitish.
Found this guy hanging out alone on some leaf litter in the Coronado National Forest, Arizona, a couple of days after some light August rain. It is usually found solitary, in a small group, or scattered occuring from fall to winter, and sometimes spring under or near hardwoods and oak trees.
Dimensions of the fungi: the cap stretches 7.5 cm across, is 4 cm tall, and the stem's width is 2.5 cm. Gills are somewhere between adnexed (slightly attached to stem; not free) and adnate (broadly attached to stem; not quite decurrent), more close to the former. The cap is convex with a slight central depression, with faint striation on the margin. There is a faint smell, resembling rubbing alcohol. It has the trademark Russula "crunch" snapping sound upon breaking into two (like chalk). Finally, its spore print is a dull mustard yellow.
Spotted on Aug 27, 2011
Submitted on Dec 21, 2011
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