[1] The specific epithet aeruginea is derived from the Latin aeruginus, referring to the tarnished color of copper.

The closely spaced gills are pale cream when young, later becoming light yellow when the spores mature.

The stipe is white, occasionally with rust-coloured spots at the base, often rather short with longitudinal furrows.

[4] The fruit bodies of Russula aeruginea grow on the ground in woods, in troops in leaf litter or in grass.

Fruiting occurs from July to November in Europe,[6] and in later summer to autumn in North America.