Russula ochroleuca was first noted and named as a species of Agaricus by the pioneering South African mycologist Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1801.

The cap is dull yellow and 5–12 cm (2–4.5 in) wide, initially convex, later flat, or slightly depressed.

The cap margin becomes furrowed when mature, and it is two-thirds peeling.

Russula ochroleuca grows in deciduous and coniferous forest, where it (at least in Northwestern Europe) is very common.

In the USA it is fairly common under conifers; birch, and aspen in the Northern States.