Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries described the species in his 1838 book Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici seu Synopsis Hymenomycetum.

The roundish spores have dimensions of 7.5–10.5 by 6.5–9 μm, with a reticulate (web-like) and ridged surface marked by occasional warts.

[2] Russula basifurcata is a similar species with smaller fruit bodies associated with oak trees at lower altitudes.

[2] Russula mustelina occurs in coniferous forests above 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range in western North America.

[2] It is a component of rare peat bog habitat in the eastern Carpathians in Romania, where it is associated with European spruce (Picea abies).