Lactarius is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several edible species. The species of the genus, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they exude when cut or damaged. Like the closely related genus Russula, their flesh has a distinctive brittle consistency. It is a large genus with over 500 known species, mainly distributed in the Northern hemisphere. Recently, the genus Lactifluus has been separated from Lactarius based on molecular phylogenetic evidence.
Lactarius deterrimus, also known as false saffron milkcap or orange milkcap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The fungus produces medium-sized fruit bodies (mushrooms) with orangish caps up to 12 centimetres wide that develop green spots in old age or if injured. Its orange-coloured latex stains maroon within 30 minutes. Lactarius deterrimus is a mycorrhizal fungus that associates with Norway spruce and bearberry. The species is distributed in Europe, but has also found in parts of Asia. A visually similar species in the United States and Mexico is not closely related to the European species. Fruit bodies appear between late June and November, usually in spruce forests. Although the fungus is edible—like all Lactarius mushrooms from the section Deliciosi—its taste is often bitter, and it is not highly valued. The fruit bodies are used as source of food for the larvae of several insect species. Lactarius deterrimus can be distinguished from similar Lactarius species by difference in the mycorrhizal host or latex colour.
Lactarius deliciosus, commonly known as the delicious milk cap, saffron milk cap and red pine mushroom, is one of the best known members of the large milk-cap genus Lactarius in the order Russulales. It is native to Europe, but has been accidentally introduced to other countries along with pine trees, with which the fungus is symbiotic.
Candy cap or curry milkcap is the English-language common name for several closely related edible species of Lactarius; L. camphoratus, L. fragilis, and L. rubidus. These mushrooms are valued for their highly aromatic qualities and are used culinarily as a flavoring rather than as a constituent of a full meal.
Lactarius rubrilacteus is a species of mushroom of the genus Lactarius. It is also known as the bleeding milkcap, as is at least one other member of the genus, Lactarius sanguifluus.
Milk-cap is a common name that refers to mushroom-forming fungi of the genera Lactarius, Lactifluus, and Multifurca, all in the family Russulaceae. The common and eponymous feature of their fruitbodies is the latex ("milk") they exude when cut or bruised. Mushrooms with typical milk-cap characteristics are said to have a lactarioid habit. Some of them are edible.
Lactifluus piperatus, commonly known as the blancaccio, is a semi-edible basidiomycete fungus of the genus Lactifluus. Despite being edible, it is not recommended by some because of its poor taste, though can be used as seasoning when dried. The fruiting body is a creamy-white mushroom which is funnel-shaped when mature, with exceptionally crowded gills. It bleeds a whitish peppery-tasting milk when cut. Widely distributed across Europe and eastern North America, Lactifluus piperatus has been accidentally introduced to Australia. Mycorrhizal, it forms a symbiotic relationship with various species of deciduous tree, including beech, and hazel, and fruiting bodies are found on the forest floor in deciduous woodland.
Lactarius rufus is a common, medium-sized member of the mushroom genus Lactarius, whose many members are commonly known as milkcaps. Known by the common name of the rufous milkcap, or the red hot milk cap in North America. It is dark brick red in color, and grows with pine or birch trees.
Lactifluus volemus, formerly known as Lactarius volemus, and commonly known as the weeping milk cap or bradley, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, in temperate regions of Europe, North America and Asia as well as some subtropical and tropical regions of Central America and Asia. A mycorrhizal fungus, its fruit bodies grow on the ground at the base of various species of trees from summer to autumn, either individually or in groups. It is valued as an edible mushroom, and is sold in markets in Asia. Several other Lactifluus mushrooms resemble L. volemus, such as the closely related edible species L. corrugis, but these can be distinguished by differences in distribution, visible morphology, and microscopic characteristics. L. volemus produces a white spore print and has roughly spherical spores about 7–8 micrometres in diameter.
Lactarius indigo, commonly known as the indigo milk cap, indigo milky, the indigo lactarius, or the blue milk mushroom, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is a widely distributed species, growing naturally in eastern North America, East Asia, and Central America; it has also been reported in southern France. L. indigo grows on the ground in both deciduous and coniferous forests, where it forms mycorrhizal associations with a broad range of trees. The fruit body color ranges from dark blue in fresh specimens to pale blue-gray in older ones. The milk, or latex, that oozes when the mushroom tissue is cut or broken — a feature common to all members of the genus Lactarius — is also indigo blue, but slowly turns green upon exposure to air. The cap has a diameter of 5–15 cm (2–6 in), and the stem is 2–8 cm (0.8–3 in) tall and 1–2.5 cm (0.4–1.0 in) thick. It is an edible mushroom, and is sold in rural markets in China, Guatemala, and Mexico. In Honduras, the mushroom is called a chora, and is generally eaten with egg; generally as a side dish for a bigger meal.
Lactarius sanguifluus, commonly known as the bloody milk cap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. First described from France in 1811, the species was given its current name by Elias Fries in 1838 when he transferred it to Lactarius. Found in Asia, Mediterranean Africa, and Europe, fruit bodies (mushrooms) grow scattered or in groups on the ground under conifers, especially Douglas fir. When bruised or cut, the fruit bodies ooze a blood-red to purple latex that slowly turns greenish upon exposure to air. The caps are orangish to reddish-brown, and become funnel-shaped with age. The gills are pinkish to purplish. Different forms have been described from Italy, but these are not universally accepted as distinct. L. sanguifluus mushrooms are edible, and sold in rural markets of Europe and Asia. Fruit bodies grown in polluted soil, including roadsides subject to heavy traffic, can bioaccumulate toxic heavy metals. Several sterols and pigment have been isolated and identified from the mushrooms.
Lactarius subflammeus, commonly known as the orange milk cap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is found in western North America in the late summer and fall and is especially common in the Pacific Northwest, where it grows on the ground near conifers like pine and spruce. The brightly colored fruit bodies, which are slimy or sticky, have scarlet caps when young that soon fade to brilliant orange. The stem—typically longer than the width of the cap—is also bright orange but the gills are whitish. The mushroom secretes a whitish latex when it is cut or injured.
Lactarius alnicola, commonly known as the golden milkcap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The fruit bodies produced by the fungus are characterized by a sticky, vanilla-colored cap up to 20 cm (7.9 in) wide with a mixture of yellow tones arranged in faint concentric bands. The stem is up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long and has yellow-brown spots. When it is cut or injured, the mushroom oozes a white latex, which has an intensely peppery taste. The acrid taste of the fruit bodies renders them unpalatable. The fungus is found in the western United States and Mexico, where it grows in mycorrhizal associations with various coniferous trees species, such as spruce, pine and fir, and deciduous species such as oak and alder. It has also been collected in India. Two varieties have been named: var. pitkinensis, known from Colorado, and var. pungens, from Michigan.
Lactarius pubescens, commonly known as the downy milk cap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is a medium to large agaric with a creamy-buff, hairy cap, whitish gills and short stout stem. The fungus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and grows solitarily or in scattered groups on sandy soil under or near birch.
Lactarius affinis, commonly known as the kindred milk cap, is a species of milk-cap mushroom in the family Russulaceae. It is found northeastern North America, where it fruits in the summer and fall, and is common in the Great Lakes region. Its fruit bodies have medium to large, slimy dull yellow or brownish caps. Although not considered poisonous, it is unpalatable because of its highly acrid taste.
Lactifluus deceptivus, commonly known as the deceiving milkcap, is a common species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is found throughout eastern North America on the ground in coniferous forests near hemlock or deciduous forests near oak, and in oak-dominated forests of Costa Rica. It produces large mushrooms with funnel-shaped caps reaching up to 25 cm (9.8 in) in diameter, on top of hard white stems that may reach 4–10 cm (1.6–3.9 in) long and up to 3 cm (1.2 in) thick. The gills are closely spaced together and yellowish-cream in color. When young, the cap is white in all parts, but the depressed center becomes dull brownish in age and breaks up into scales. The edge of the cap has a roll of cottony tissue that collapses as the cap expands. The surface of the stem—especially near the base—has a velvety texture. The mushroom "bleeds" a milky white acrid latex when it is cut or injured. Similar milk-cap species with which L. deceptivus might be confused include Lactifluus piperatus, L. pseudodeceptivus, L. caeruleitinctus, L. subvellereus, Lactarius arcuatus and Lactarius parvulus.
Lactarius argillaceifolius is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The mushrooms produced by the fungus have convex to flattened drab lilac-colored caps that are up to 18 cm (7.1 in) wide. The cream-colored gills are closely spaced together and extend slightly down the length of the stem, which is up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long by 3.5 cm (1.4 in) thick. The mushroom produces an off-white latex when injured that stains the mushroom tissue brownish.
Lactarius rufulus, commonly known as the rufous candy cap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The fruit bodies have fleshy brownish-red caps up to 10 cm (3.9 in) wide, and closely spaced pinkish-yellow gills. The stem is up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and 3 cm (1.2 in) thick and colored similarly to the cap. The species, known only from California, Arizona, and Mexico, grows on the ground in leaf litter near oak trees. The fruit bodies resembles those of L. rufus, but L. rufulus tends to grow in clusters at a common base, rather than solitarily or in groups. A distinguishing microscopic characteristic is the near absence of large, spherical cells called sphaerocysts that are otherwise common in Lactarius species. Lactarius rufulus mushrooms are edible, and have an odor resembling maple syrup. They have been used to flavor confections and desserts.
Lactarius vinaceorufescens, commonly known as the yellow-staining milkcap or the yellow-latex milky, is a poisonous species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It produces mushrooms with pinkish-cinnamon caps up to 12 cm (4.7 in) wide held by pinkish-white stems up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long. The closely spaced whitish to pinkish buff gills develop wine-red spots in age. When it is cut or injured, the mushroom oozes a white latex that rapidly turns bright sulfur-yellow. The species, common and widely distributed in North America, grows in the ground in association with conifer trees. There are several other Lactarius species that bear resemblance to L. vinaceorufescens, but most can be distinguished by differences in staining reactions, macroscopic characteristics, or habitat.
Lactifluus corrugis, commonly known as the corrugated-cap milky, is an edible species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It was first described by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck in 1880.
