Lactarius pseudomucidus

Lactarius pseudomucidus
Lactarius pseudomucidus found in Mendocino, California
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Russulales
Family:	Russulaceae
Genus:	Lactarius
Species:	L. pseudomucidus
Binomial name
Lactarius pseudomucidus A.H.Sm. & Hesler (1979)

Lactarius pseudomucidus Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is depressed
	Hymenium is decurrent
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is cream
	Edibility is unknown

Lactarius pseudomucidus, commonly known as the slimy milk cap, ^[1] is a mucilaginous species of fungus native to North America.

Description

It has a charcoal brown cap, smooth and slimy, from 2–10 centimetres (3⁄4–4 in) across, initially flat convex, becoming shallowly depressed. The gills are decurrent, white with a gray or yellow tinge, staining brownish. ^[2] The stipe is 2.5–10 cm (1–4 in) tall and 5–12 millimetres (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) thick; ^[3] it is hollow and brittle. Both the cap and stipe are mucilaginous. ^[2] The flesh is gray and the latex is milky white, drying yellowish. ^[2] There is only a slight odor, and the taste slowly becomes acrid. Spores are white in mass, ellipsoid, amyloid, about 8  μm long, with a reticulate decoration on the surface. ^{[4] [5]} The spore print is cream. ^[3]

The species is inedible, ^[6] with the extremely viscid stalk and cap being deterrent. ^[1]

Similar species

It resembles Lactarius argillaceifolius , which has a light orange-gray cap, ^[7] and eastern North America's L. mucidus. ^[2] Additionally, L. fumosus and Lactifluus gerardi bear similarities. ^[3] Other Lactarius species with slippery, grayish caps are either zonate and/or the gills stain purple. ^[3]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to northwestern North America, often found in coastal and conifer forests. ^[2]

References

1. Thiers, Harry D.; Arora, David (September 1980). "Mushrooms Demystified" . Mycologia. 72 (5): 1054. doi:10.2307/3759750. ISSN   0027-5514. JSTOR   3759750.
2. Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN   978-0-88192-935-5.
3. Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 179. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
4. Hesler, LR, & AH Smith. 1979. North American species of Lactarius. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
5. Smith, AH. 1975. Field guide to western mushrooms. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
6. Phillips, Roger (2010) [2005]. Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America . Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p.  118. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.
7. Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 96–97. ISBN   978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC   797915861.