The cap is a red or rosy colour, 3–6 cm wide, convex to flat, or slightly depressed, and weakly sticky.

[1] The flesh is firm and white or sometimes yellowish, smells of coconut, and tastes peppery.

The gills are narrowly spaced, adnexed, rounded, and white, often with a faint blue-green sheen.

Many bitter tasting red-capped species can cause problems if eaten raw; the symptoms are mainly gastrointestinal in nature: diarrhoea, vomiting and colicky abdominal cramps.

The active agent has not been identified but thought to be caused by chemical compounds known as sesquiterpenes, which have been isolated from the related genus Lactarius and from Russula sardonia.