Lactifluus hygrophoroides

Lactifluus hygrophoroides
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Russulales
Family:	Russulaceae
Genus:	Lactarius
Species:	L. hygrophoroides
Binomial name
Lactarius hygrophoroides Berk. & M.A.Curtis 1859
Synonyms
Lactifluus hygrophoroides(Berk. & M.A.Curtis) Kuntze (1891)

Lactarius hygrophoroides is an edible North American species of milk-cap mushroom in the order Russulales.

Taxonomy

It was first described scientifically by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis in 1859. ^[1]

Description

The cap is initially convex with a depression; the margin lifts with age. The caps are 3–8 centimetres (1+1⁄4–3+1⁄4 in) wide and pinkish-orange, frosted by a bloom that darkens when touched. ^[2] The gills are adnate, sometimes slightly decurrent, and pale. ^[2] The stem is 2–5 cm (3⁄4–2 in) long, 7–15 millimetres (1⁄4–5⁄8 in) wide, often tapered near the base, and colored like the cap or slightly lighter. ^[2] The spore print is white. ^[2]

Habitat and distribution

The species can be found growing under oak trees in eastern North America from June to September. ^[2]

Uses

It may be a choice edible mushroom, ^[3] although some report its taste to be mild. ^{[4] [2]}

References

1. Berkeley MJ, Curtis MA (1859). "Centuries of North American fungi". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. III. 4 (22): 284–96. doi:10.1080/00222935908697127.
2. Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 190. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
3. Phillips, Roger (2010) [2005]. Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 109. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.
4. Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 99. ISBN   978-0-7627-3109-1.