when cut; compact; hard; odor not distinctive; taste strongly acrid
GILLS: Whitish, becoming yellowish; attached to subdecurrent; subdistant to distant; often with hyaline droplets; narrow; some forking; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White, slowly changing to yellow on exposure; staining gills brownish to pinkish brown; copious; strongly acrid
STEM: Up to 2 in. long; white with yellowish or brownish areas; equal or tapered downward; solid; surface dry, velvety
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks and possibly other broadleaf trees; single, scattered, or gregarious in lawns, moss, and humus under broad leaf trees in parks and woodlands; summer and early fall; common
EDIBILITY: Not edible; acrid
COMMENTS: The subdistant to distant gills will separate this species from Lactifluus piperatus (p. 40), which has crowded gills, and from Lactifluus deceptivus (p. 41), which has closer gills and a pseudo veil that leaves a cottony margin.
Lactarius subvellereus var. subdistans
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactarius peckii Burl.
SYNONYM: None
COMMON NAME: Peck’s Milk Mushroom
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 4 in. wide; orangish brown to brick red, usually with darker concentric zones; broadly convex with a depressed center; surface dry, bald or slightly roughened, occasionally scaly; margin enrolled at first
FLESH: Pale vinaceous brown, not staining when cut; firm; odor not distinctive; taste strongly acrid
GILLS: Pale cinnamon to reddish brown, darker in age or with dark-brown stains; attached to subdecurrent; close; rather narrow; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White on exposure; not staining tissues; copious; strongly acrid
STEM: Up to 2-1/2 in. long; tan or colored like the cap, only paler; equal; becoming hollow in age; surface dry, with a whitish bloom when young
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks; scattered to gregarious in soil and litter in broadleaf and mixed woods; summer and early fall; common
EDIBILITY: Not edible; acrid
COMMENTS: Tasting the acrid latex of this species will clearly set it apart from Lactifluus volemus (p. 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.
