Lactarius sanguifluus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Agaricomycetes |
Order: | Russulales |
Family: | Russulaceae |
Genus: | Lactarius |
Species: | L. sanguifluus |
Binomial name | |
Lactarius sanguifluus | |
Synonyms [1] [2] | |
Lactarius sanguifluus | |
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Gills on hymenium | |
Cap is depressed | |
Hymenium is decurrent | |
Stipe is bare | |
Spore print is tan | |
Ecology is mycorrhizal | |
Edibility is choice |
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.
The fungus was first described by French mycologist Jean-Jacques Paulet as Hypophyllum sanguifluum in 1811. [3] It was given its current name by Elias Magnus Fries when he transferred it to Lactarius in his 1838 work Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici. [4] In 1892, Otto Kuntze called it a Lactifluus , [5] a genus that until 2010 was considered a synonym of Lactarius. [6] Because Paulet's 1811 type illustration of the species did not represent the typical morphology of the fruit bodies, Jorinde Nuytinck and Annemieke Verbeken designated an epitype in 2005. [2]
Giovanni Pacioni and Giorgio Lalli described the forms roseus and vinosus from Italy in 2003; roseus has a greyish-whitish cap discolouration, while f. vinosus has a less clearly zonate cap that lacks green tones, and gills with a lilac-pinkish sheen. [7] However, form vinosus, originally described by Lucien Quélet as a variety (Lactarius sanguifluus var. vinosus) in 1881, was invalid, because Quélet's basionym was an illegitimate nomenclatural synonym of a species named in 1855 by Jean-Baptiste Barla. [8] [9] Later authors did not agree with the delimitation of these forms as distinct taxa, suggesting that the alternations in appearance represent normal morphological variations brought about by differences in age, and environmental factors such as levels of sunlight and humidity. [2] Lactarius vinosus has often been considered as a variety of L. sanguifluus, but morphological (especially macroscopic characters and spore-ornamentation) and molecular evidence (based on internal transcribed spacer-sequencing) has confirmed that they are separate species. [10]
Lactarius sanguifluus is classified in the section Dapetes of the genus Lactarius. This section, which also includes other popular edible species such as L. deliciosus , and the less popular L. deterrimus , is characterized by mushrooms with orange or red latex that often impart a greenish stain on the flesh and gills, an often sticky cap, and association with conifers. [11] The specific epithet sanguifluus is derived from the Latin words sanguis ("blood") and fluus ("flowing"). [12]
The fruit bodies have convex caps with a central depression, reaching a diameter of 4–7.5 cm (1.6–3.0 in). The cap surface is smooth and sticky, and the margins are curved downward, even as the mushroom matures. Its color is pinkish-buff to orangish, sometimes with patches of grayish or pale greenish-gray, especially where the surface has been bruised. The somewhat crowded gills have an adnate to slightly decurrent attachment to the stipe. They are pale vinaceous with a pale pinkish-buff edge. The cylindrical stipe measures 2.0–3.5 cm (0.8–1.4 in) long by 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) thick. Its smooth surface is colored pale pinkish-buff to pale greyish-buff, sometimes with brownish irregular dots. The flesh ranges from firm to fragile: in the stipe, it is soft and pale pinkish buff; under the cap cuticle it is brick colored, or brownish-red just above the gills. Its taste ranges from mild to slightly bitter, and it lacks any significant odor. [13]
The spores are roughly spherical to ellipsoidal, measuring 7.9–9.5 by 8.0–8.8 μm. They feature surface ornamentations up to 0.8 μm high and an almost complete reticulum comprising broad, rounded ridges. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are somewhat cylindrical, four-spored, and measure 50–70 by 9–11 μm. The cap cuticle is an ixocutis (made of gelatinous hyphae that run parallel to the cap surface) up to 60 μm thick, with hyphae that are 2–6 wide that are usually branched and interwoven. [13]
Lactarius vinosus, formerly considered a variety of L. sanguifluus, is quite similar in appearance. In general, L. vinosus can be distinguished by the more vinaceous-red color (lacking orange tones) of its cap, stipe, and gills, the more distinctly downwards-tapered stipe, and the more intense staining of the latex on the cap tissue. The two species can also be distinguished microscopically by differences in the ornamentation of their spore surfaces. L. vinosus has an incomplete reticulum on the spore surface, with ridges that have a wider degree of variation in thickness. [14] Another potential lookalike, L. semisanguifluus , has a characteristic orange latex that turns wine-red in 5–10 minutes after exposure to air. Compared to L. sanguifluus, the fruit bodies of L. semisanguifluus are smaller, have tinges of violet in the cap, and develop a greenish discolouration with age. [15]
An ectomycorrhizal species, Lactarius sanguifluus fruit bodies grow on the ground in association with pine trees on calcareous soils. L. sanguifluus is widely distributed in Himachal Pradesh in India, where it has been noted to grow in mixed coniferous forests, usually under the fern Onychium contiguum . [16] It is widespread in Southern Europe, where it fruits between September and November (extending to December in the southernmost regions of the continent). [2] In the Netherlands, it was found in calcareous dunes, growing in a warm, sunny and sheltered place at the edge of a woods dominated in pine species. [17] From Europe, it has also been recorded in Belgium, [18] Estonia, [19] Greece, [20] Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, [19] Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, [2] and Switzerland. [21] In Africa, the species has been collected in Morocco; [2] in Asia, it occurs in Vietnam [22] and China. [23] It is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, [24] and appeared in a draft red list for Spain as an endangered edible species considered vulnerable due to uncontrolled commercial picking. To illustrate, a September 1998 newspaper report was cited, which reported that 82.5 kg (182 lb) of L. sanguifluus mushrooms picked in Poligny were seized from a van. [25]
The fruit bodies of Lactarius sanguifluus are edible, and choice. This was noted by Paulet in his original description of the species, who wrote: "This fungus is highly prized for use by those who are acquainted with it, it keeps well: I kept them for a whole year, it hardens without spoiling, then it takes on a taste of morels. The best way to eat is to cook it in the frying pan or on the grill with oil or butter & salt: it does not take long to cook". [3] The mushrooms are sold in rural markets in France, [26] Spain, [27] Turkey, [28] and Yunnan Province, China. [23] They are also collected by locals in the upper valley of the Serchio River in central Italy. [29] In Spain, where the mushroom is esteemed as a culinary delicacy in Catalan cuisine, [30] it is known as níscalos [31] (in Spanish) or rovelló [32] (in Catalan). In Cyprus, it is known as γαιματάς (meaning "the bloody one") and it is widely collected by the locals, but considered inferior to the saffron milk cap ( Lactarius deliciosus ). [33] In India, young specimens are consumed along with L. deliciosus; [16] and some consider L. sanguifluus to have a better flavor than its more well-known relative. [32] Its English common name is the "bloody milkcap". [34]
Fruit bodies can bioaccumulate heavy metals, including toxic ones, from polluted soil. For this reason, consuming mushrooms harvested from potentially contaminated sites—such as near roadsides subject to heavy traffic—is not recommended. [35] In a Turkish study of various edible mushroom species collected from lawns, near roads, and the inner parts of forests, the fruit bodies of L. sanguifluus were determined to have accumulated high levels of zinc, manganese, nickel, cobalt, cadmium, and lead. [35]
Lactarius sanguifluus contains a mixture of sterols. The predominant sterol is ergosterol (56.6% of total sterols), with lesser amounts of ergosterol derivatives, including ergost-7-en-3β-ol, ergosta-7,22-dien-3β-ol, and ergosta-5,7-dien-3β-ol. [36]
The latex contains sesquiterpene pigments with guaiane skeletons; [37] these include the compounds given the common names lactaroviolin and sangol. Some of these chemicals are thought to undergo enzymatic conversions when the fruit body becomes injured. [38] Fruit body extracts have been shown to have some antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. [39]
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, or 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.
Lactarius torminosus, commonly known as the woolly milkcap or the bearded milkcap, is a large species of agaric fungus. A common and widely distributed species, it is found in North Africa, northern Asia, Europe, and North America. It was first described scientifically by Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1774 as an Agaricus, and later transferred to the genus Lactarius in 1821 by Samuel Frederick Gray. A variety, L. torminosus var. nordmanensis, is known from the United States, Canada, and Switzerland. L. torminosus officially became the type species of Lactarius in 2011 after molecular studies prompted the taxonomic reshuffling of species between several Russulaceae genera.
Candy cap or curry milkcap is the English-language common name for two closely related edible species of Lactarius; Lactarius camphoratus, and Lactarius 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.
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.
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, indigo lactarius, blue lactarius, or blue milk mushroom, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Russulaceae.
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 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 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.
Lactarius fuliginosus, commonly known as the sooty milkcap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The medium-sized fruit bodies have velvety, grayish-brown caps and crowded gills. It is found in deciduous forests of Asia, Europe, and North America.
Lactarius scoticus is a member of the large milk-cap genus Lactarius in the order Russulales. It is found in Europe, where it grows in peat bogs in a mycorrhizal association with birch.
Lactarius torminosulus is a member of the large milk-cap genus Lactarius, in the order Russulales. A European species, it was officially described in 1996 from collections made in Norway. Fruit bodies (mushrooms) are small to medium-sized, yellowish orange in colour. Young specimens have a hairy cap margin; these hairs slough off in maturity—a field characteristic that can be used to help distinguish this species from the similar Lactarius torminosus. The fungus grows in a mycorrhizal association with dwarf birch species.
Lactarius fennoscandicus is a member of the large milk-cap genus Lactarius in the order Russulales. It is found in Scandinavia, where it grows in a mycorrhizal association with spruce trees.
Lactarius porninsis, the larch milkcap, is a member of the large milk-cap genus Lactarius in the order Russulales. It is found in Europe and Asia, where it grows in a mycorrhizal association with larch.
Lactifluus is one of three genera of mushroom-forming fungi containing species commonly named "milk-caps", the others being Lactarius and Multifurca. It has been separated from Lactarius based on molecular phylogenetic evidence but is very similar to that genus. There are roughly 150 known Lactifluus species, which have a mainly tropical distribution but are also found in the north temperate zone and Australasia. Some of them are edible mushrooms.
Lactifluus clarkeae, formerly known as Lactarius clarkeae, is a species of mushroom-forming fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is found in Australia and New Zealand in mycorrhizal association with species of Nothofagus and the family Myrtaceae.