This is a rare Russula originally described by Gertrude Burlingham from Massachusetts, USA, in 1915, as R. insignis unaware that L. Quélet had published this binomial in 1887. In 1938, R. Singer simply renamed the taxon for Burlingham. The name, and apparently, the species have remained in obscurity since. While not common in Costa Rica, it can be locally abundant in the Talamancas during some years. The yellow coloration, areolate squamules near the stipe base, and the chrome yellow "hairs" on the pileus (and sometimes at the base of the stipe) seen easily with a lens (below left). A modern description can be found in: Bol. Micol. Bresadola 46: 57-74. 2003 (2005).