Reflections on the Fungaloids by B.L. Williamson

Should one ask the unlikely question, "What did the banquets of the ancient Romans have in common with the meagre meals of the charcoal burners in the forests of the Dark Ages?"...

...the answer would be, "Grilled mushrooms!"

Russula lutea, as slick and polished as R. brevipes is grungy.

A squatty white Russula, green-gilled; 

A mediocre edible, its flavour much enhanced by an infestation of Hypomyces lactifluorum transforming it into the choice "Lobster Mushroom". 

This emeraldine Russula, found by the great Waterfall at Coulonge, is probably Russula aeruginea.

Its deep green cap is over glazed with a hint of verdigris and from within shines a copper glow. As in all Russulas, its near white stems are chalk-like, crisp and brittle. 

These amethystine Russulas range in colour from pinks, reds, and purples under conifers, to olive or violet brown under deciduous trees, to slate violet in shady places.

It makes identification in the field, by colour alone, guesswork even for the experts. 

Brilliant, polished clusters which further dramatize themselves by flamboyant Laocoön-like postures and gestures. 

Low-tech Agarica, their thick waxy gills are spaced relatively far apart, a contrast to the gill sophistication opposite. 

Stalkless, often overlapping, these exquisite bronzy-green shells decorate hardwood logs late in the fall, often after first frost. 

Their gills are as fine, delicate, and as tightly ranged as those of Hygrocybe puniceus are coarse and distant.