Appalachian Mushrooms. Walter E. Sturgeon
href="#ulink_cac01e35-a50a-56e3-a895-87002673c091">59) and similar species.
Lactarius peckii
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactarius rufus (Scop.) Fr.
SYNONYM: None
COMMON NAME: Red Hot Milk Mushroom
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 3-1/2 in. broad; bay red to dark brownish red, at times with a whitish bloom when young; rarely zoned; convex becoming flat with a depressed center, umbonate at times; surface moist to dry, not viscid, bald; margin incurved at first, becoming uplifted
FLESH: White with a pinkish or purplish tinge; odor not distinctive; taste intensely acrid
GILLS: Whitish to pinkish tan or darker in age; attached to subdecurrent; narrow; close to crowded, not changing color when damaged; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White, unchanging when exposed; not staining tissues; abundant; very acrid, sometimes slowly
STEM: Up to 3-1/2 in. long; colored like the cap; equal or tapering downward; surface bald, dry with a whitish bloom when young
SPORE PRINT: Cream to white or yellowish
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with conifers, especially pines and spruce; often in bogs and wet woods but also in poor soil in dry situations; single, scattered, to gregarious in soil, humus, and moss; late summer and fall; common
EDIBILITY: Not edible; acrid
COMMENTS: There are many similar colored milk mushrooms. This one is set apart by its intensely acrid taste, lack of a distinctive odor, and by its conifer habitat.
Lactarius rufus
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactarius croceus Burl.
SYNONYM: None
COMMON NAME: None
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 4 in. wide; bright orange to yellowish orange, fading in age to pale yellow or yellowish tan, at times with zones of darker orange; convex to broadly convex to nearly flat with a depressed center in age; surface viscid when wet, shiny when dry
FLESH: White, staining yellow to orangish yellow when bruised; thick; odor fruity; taste bitter to acrid
GILLS: Whitish, pale yellow to yellowish tan; staining yellow where cut or damaged; attached to subdecurrent; close to subdistant; broad; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White slowly turning to yellow; staining gills and flesh yellow; scant; odor not distinctive; taste bitter or acrid, sometimes slowly
STEM: Up to 2-1/2 in. long; whitish, pale orangish yellow or colored like the cap; equal; stuffed becoming hollow; at times with brownish spots; surface bald, at times velvety at the base, dry
SPORE PRINT: Pale yellow
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks; single to scattered in humus and moss in broadleaf and mixed woods; summer and fall; common
EDIBILITY: Not edible; acrid
COMMENTS: Compare with Lactifluus volemus (p. 59), which has a dry cap and mild-tasting latex. Lactarius psammicola (p. 49) is similar but has a paler and more distinctly zonate cap and often larger size.
Lactarius croceus
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactarius hibbardiae Peck
SYNONYM: Lactarius mammosus Fr.
COMMON NAME: Coconut Milk Cap
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 3 in. wide; ruddy gray; pinkish brown to dark pinkish gray, paler with age; convex to broadly convex, becoming flat with a depressed center, umbonate at times; surface fibrillose, dry, not striate
FLESH: Whitish, pinkish gray or pinkish brown; odor similar to coconut; taste acrid
GILLS: Cream to pinkish buff, slowly staining brownish where injured; attached to the stem; close to subdistant; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White or watery; rather abundant; acrid
STEM: Up to 3-1/2 in. long; whitish or colored like the cap, at times with brownish areas; equal or tapering downward; becoming hollow; surface dry, pruinose
SPORE PRINT: Pale cream
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with conifers; scattered to gregarious in moss or humus, often with hemlock and white pine; late summer and fall; fairly common
EDIBILITY: Unknown
COMMENTS: This is the only mushroom with a coconut odor that one is likely to encounter in the Appalachians. A much paler mushroom with a similar odor is Lactarius glyciosmus (not illustrated), which to the author’s knowledge has not been found here.
Lactarius hibbardiae
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactarius cinereus Peck
SYNONYM: Lactarius cinereus var. fagetorum Hesler and A. H. Sm.
COMMON NAME: None
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 2-3/4 in. wide; olive gray to olive buff, with faint violet tinges at times; convex, becoming flat with a depressed center; surface bald or slightly hoary, not zoned, viscid when wet
FLESH: White, unchanging when cut; odor not distinctive; taste acrid
GILLS: White to cream colored, not staining when damaged; attached to subdecurrent; close; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White, unchanging on exposure; acrid; usually fairly abundant
STEM: Up to 3 in. long; colored like the cap or paler; equal becoming enlarged downward; becoming hollow; surface slightly viscid, becoming dry and shiny
SPORE PRINT: Pale yellow
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal; scattered to gregarious in humus and moss in broadleaf and mixed woods, usually under beech; summer and early fall; common
EDIBILITY: Unknown
COMMENTS: This is a common mushroom wherever beech is found. The species described here is probably Lactarius cinereus var. fagetorum. It is macroscopically very similar to Lactarius cinereus var. cinereus (not illustrated). Spore measurements are needed to separate the two.