LACTARIUS Lesson 4/15/19 by Dianna Smith
– 6 Groups
• Like russulas, they break easily.
• Terrestrial
• Mycorrhizal with trees.
• Amyloid reaction with Meltzer’s solution (or iodine).
• They lactate on cutting or bruising.
• In N.A., it is a large genus. There are at least 200 species and 60 var.
Edibility
Majority are acrid to peppery – some can be boiled several times with fresh water.
A few toxic ones: L. torminosus; L. vinaceorufescens, L. chrysorheus
Some choice edibles: L. indigo; L. subpurpureus; L. chelidonium; L. volemus; L. hygrophoroides; L. corrugis; L. luteolus – because of their meaty texture, they are good marinated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil and then broiled or grilled.
Questions to Ask When Examining Lactarius mushrooms:
Associated with what trees - conifer or deciduous, sphagnum moss
High or low elevation
Taste
Odor.
S.P.
Cap Characteristics
Sticky or dry
Thick or thin
Glabrous or wrinkled
Zonate?
Margin Inrolled? Wooly?
Flat or Vase-shaped
Stipe Characteristics
Thick or thin
Shape
Texture
Color
Staining reactions?
Latex Characteristics
Taste: acrid, peppery, sweet
Changes color or not
Stains or not
Volume?
Color?
LACTARIUS – 6 Groups simplified and adapted from the Hessler and Smith (1979) book on NA species of Lactarius. Based on Mushroom U. course I took with Gary Lincoff
Note: There are other ways of organizing this information: such as Bessette, Harris and Bessette’s , Milk Mushrooms of North America (2010)
Dapetes (Colored Latex, mild)
Albati (White, white latex, peppery)
Plinthogali (Brown, with white latex)
Dulces (Dry, Meaty, white latex, staining brown)
Russulares (Small, often fragrant)
Lactarius (Hairy margin, scrobiculate, zonate, viscid, white latex unchanging or changing slowly).
DAPETES CHARACTERS:
Colored latex; Mild taste
All but Lactarius indigo are associated with conifers
Lactarius deterrimus
Lactarius salmonicolor
Lactarius chelidonium var. chelidonium
Lactarius thyinos
Lactaius indigo
Lactarius paradoxus
Lactarius subpurpureus
ALBATI CHARACTERS
Acrid to peppery taste; White fruit body; White latex, unchanging (1 exception)*
Lactarius piperatus
Lactarius deceptivus
Lactarius vellereus
Lactarius subvellereus
Lactarius subvellereus var. subdistans
Lactarius glaucascens
PLINTHOGALI CHARACTERS
Dark brown to tan fruitbodies; White latex, often changing flesh pink; Cap dry and velutinous
Lactarius lignyotus
Lactarius lignyotellus
Lactarius fumosus
Lactarius gerardii
Lactarius subplinthogalus (wrinkled cap, scalloped margin)
DULCES
Dry, ‘meaty’ pileus; Copious latex changing; and or staining or not
Lactarius (Lactifluus) volemus
Lactarius (Lactifluus) hygrophoroides
Lactarius (Lactifluus) corrugis
Lactarius (Lactifluus) luteolus
RUSSULARES
Generally small, russula-like mushroom;. White to clear latex; many fragrant odors.
Lactarius hibbardiae (name in field guides is L. hibbardae)
Lactarius glysiosmus
Lactarius griseus
Lactarius quietus var. incanus
Lactarius hepaticus
Lactarius peckii
Lactarius oculatus
Lactarius rufus
LACTARIUS
Latex white to whey-clear; Latex unchanging or changing to yellow, purple, pink-orange, olive or grey; Caps viscid, zonate or with cottony margin.
Lactarius zonarius
Lactarius psammicola
Lactarius torminosus
Lactarius controversus
Lactarius hysginus var. subroseus
Lactarius vinaceorufescens
Lactarius chysorheus
Lactarius sordidus
Lactarius atroviridis
Lactarius mucidus
There are other ways of organizing this information: Bessette, Harris and Bessette, Milk Mushrooms of North America (2010) who first divides the genus into
Eastern Lactarius and Western Lactarius. TIP: (You can ignore the western ones until you do a foray out west, or move there).4Then They divide them into four Groups: A. B. C. and D as follows:
A. Latex colored a). immediately or within five minutes of exposure to air L. chrysorrheus
Strong Odors of crushed flesh: fruity, spicy, fragrant, aromatic, maple sugar, coconut, anise, geranium, apples, raw pumpkin, ripe crushed blackberries, or lemony; Odor spermatic, alkaline, disagreeable. (Group A - 47) L. volemus, L. hyzingus, L. pyrogalus
B. Latex color unchanging or not changing within 5 minutes, taste mild within 2 minutes. (Group B - 38)
C. Cap white, buff, yellow, orange, ochraceous to brownish-ochre, pale yellow-cinnamon, pale pinkish cinnamon to pale rosy cinnamon, red lilac, grey or brown; margin bearded or stem scrobiculate; or latex slowly changing color or staining or drying tissues a different color. (Group C - 46) atriviridis, turpis, deceptivus, controversus, vellereus, psammicola, torminosus, affinis, hyzingus, lignyotus, maculatus
D. Cap white, buff, yellow, orange, ochraceous to brownish-ochre, pale yellow-cinnamon, pale pinkish cinnamon to pale rosy cinnamon, red lilac, grey or brown; but without bearded margin, scrobiculate stem, or latex changing color, staining or drying tissues. (Group D is small w 16) rufus, peckii, oculatus, cinereus, griseus, hepaticus
I might have the odiferous mushrooms have their own group.
The point is, until a sufficient number of Russula species have been asigned to clades, we won’t know whether or not the phylogenetic information will help us organize our lactarius (or russulas) into groupings that make sense to us macroscopically. It is likely there will be little clarity to assist the amateur to recognize species - even assuming we go through the time-consuming effort to examine spores and cell structures and cap cuticle tissues micrscopically, Therefore, I recommend that you devide your own multi-access keys listing a set of field characters and see how they add up to you. Remember, there is no right or one-way of organizing these fungus to learn them.