| Major Groups > Gilled Mushrooms > Pale-Spored > Lactarius > Lactarius chelidonium |
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Lactarius chelidonium [ Basidiomycetes > Russulales > Russulaceae > Lactarius . . . ] by Michael Kuo Growing under conifers in eastern North America, this milky cap seems almost like a cross between Lactarius indigo and Lactarius deliciosus. With Lactarius indigo it shares the gorgeous blue color of the exposed flesh--and when very young, its cap is often a pale bluish shade; in fact, when the two species are growing together, it can be difficult to distinguish the buttons. As Lactarius chelidonium begins to mature, however, its cap goes through a series of bewildering color changes, from a dingy yellowish brown, to a dull orange, bruising and discoloring strongly dark green. When orangish and bruising green, it is reminiscent of Lactarius deliciosus. Eventually, in older specimens, the cap may become dark green overall. Two varieties of Lactarius chelidonium have been described; see the comments below for details. I have no information on the edibility of this species. I would expect it to be edible, but I have not tried it. I do not recommend experimenting. Description: Ecology: Mycorrhizal with conifers, especially Eastern White Pine and Red Pine; late summer and fall; distribution uncertain but probably limited to eastern North America (officially recorded in Michigan and Massachussets; collected by me in Illinois and by photographer Richard Nadon in Quebec). Cap: 3-8 cm; flat to convex or shallowly depressed, becoming shallowly vase-shaped; slimy but soon dry; smooth or finely roughened; dirty bluish when young, passing through stages of yellowish brown and dull orange; often mottled with watery spots of color; readily bruising dark green; in age often green overall; without zones of color or with faint zones. Gills: Beginning to run down the stem; fairly crowded; pale, dirty yellowish when young; soon bruising and discoloring greenish. Stem: 3-6 cm long; 1-2.5 cm thick; more or less equal; dry; fairly smooth; without pot-holes; colored like the cap or paler. Flesh: Sky blue in the cap; paler elsewhere; sometimes orange in the stem. Milk: Very scant (likely to be observed only in very young buttons); dirty yellowish to yellowish brown. Odor and Taste: Odor reminiscent of yellow morels (I have never noticed this parallel in fresh collections, but dried specimens certainly do smell like dried morels); taste slowly slightly peppery. Spore Print: Pale buff. Chemical Reactions: KOH on cap surface negative. Microscopic Features: Spores 7-9 x 5-7 µ; broadly elliptical; ornamentation with prominences 0.5-1 µ high; connecting lines amyloid, not forming a complete reticulum. REFERENCES: Peck, 1872. (Saccardo, 1887; Coker, 1918; Hesler & Smith, 1979; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; States, 1990; Phillips, 1991/2005; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Nuytinck et al., 2006.) Herb. Kuo 11149401, 09299601, 09280306. Hesler & Smith (1979) record two varieties of Lactarius chelidonium: var. chelidonioides (described above), and var. chelidonium, which has a mild taste, an indistinct odor, and milk the color of "the liquid secreted from the mouth of grasshoppers" (Peck, in Hesler & Smith, 83). One wonders about old Charles Peck sometimes . . . . At any rate, Hesler & Smith suggest the two varieties might be more easily separated on the basis of spore ornamentation, which in var. chelidonium only extends .3-.5 µ. The "material cited" by Hesler & Smith for var. chelidonium ranges from Alabama to Wisconsin to New York. See the links below for further details. Further Online Information: L. chelidonium var. chelidonium in Hesler & Smith (1979) |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2007, September). Lactarius chelidonium. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lactarius_chelidonium.html |