| Lactarius pallescens | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Russulales |
| Family: | Russulaceae |
| Genus: | Lactarius |
| Species: | L. pallescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Lactarius pallescens Hesler & A.H. Sm. (1979) | |
| Lactarius pallescens | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 | Gills on hymenium |
  | Cap is flat or depressed |
 | Hymenium is subdecurrent |
 | Stipe is bare |
 | Spore print is white |
 | Ecology is mycorrhizal |
 | Edibility is unknown |
Lactarius pallescens, commonly known as the pallid purple-staining milk cap, [1] is a Western North American "milk-cap" mushroom, of which the milk turns violet when the flesh is damaged. The fungi generally identified as L. pallescens are part of a complex of closely related species and varieties which have a peppery taste and are difficult to delimit definitively. [2]
Contents
The gray-brown cap ranges from 3 to 10 cm in width, with a mucilaginous surface, [3] whitish flesh and white latex. The gills are whitish and sometimes slightly decurrent. [3] The viscid stalk ranges from 3 to 8 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide. The spores are pale yellow to orange, elliptical, and bumpy. The flesh of the mushroom stains lilac. [4] In age, reddish stains develop. [3]
