It is dark vinaceous (red wine-coloured) or purple, and grows with deciduous, or occasionally coniferous trees.

Initially described as Agaricus atropurpureus by German naturalist Julius von Krombholz in 1845, and placed in Russula by his countryman Max Britzelmayr in 1893, the binomial name of this mushroom R. atropurpurea (Krombh.)

It is common in the northern temperate zones, Europe, Asia, and Eastern North America, and is mycorrhizal with oak (Quercus),[2][3] with which it prefers to live.

The closely set and fairly broad gills are adnexed to almost free, and pale cream, giving a spore print of the same colour.

[2] As the fruitbodies mature, the caps become concave to collect water during wet weather, and much of the color washes off the rim.