| Major Groups > Gilled Mushrooms > Pale-Spored > Lactarius > Lactarius gerardii |
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Lactarius gerardii [ Basidiomycetes > Russulales > Russulaceae > Lactarius . . . ] by Michael Kuo Brown species of Lactarius are often frustratingly difficult to identify, but Lactarius gerardii is fairly easily distinguished by its distant white gills, which run down the stem; its white, unchanging milk; its white spore print; its "failure" to stain or bruise; and its mild or merely slightly acrid taste. It has a rugged, yellowish brown cap that is often described as "velvety," but in my experience the texture of the mature cap and stem might be better described as "waxy." Description: Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods (especially oaks); also reported under conifers; growing alone or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed east of the Great Plains, extending at least as far south as Costa Rica. Cap: 3-10.5 cm; convex with a small point in the middle, becoming flat or with an uplifted margin, with the central point often disappearing; dry; velvety or finely velvety (waxy to the touch at maturity); often with a rugged and wrinkled surface; yellow-brown; the margin sometimes becoming scalloped, like ravioli. Gills: Running down the stem; quite distant; stark white. Stem: 3-8 cm long; 1-2.5 cm thick; more or less equal; dry; without pot holes; textured and colored like the cap; sometimes with a white apex, or sometimes with the gills running into the brown coloration; becoming hollow. Flesh: White; thin. Milk: White; unchanging on exposure to air; not staining tissues. Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste mild or slightly acrid. Chemical Reactions: Cap surface negative with KOH; flesh yellowish with KOH. Spore Print: White. Microscopic Features: Spores 7-10 x 7.5-9 µ; round or nearly so; ornamentation with prominences 0.5-1 µ high; connecting lines usually forming partial or complete reticula. REFERENCES: Peck, 1873, (Saccardo, 1887; Coker, 1918; Hesler & Smith, 1979; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 08050305, 07230406, 07160705. Lactarius gerardii var. fagicola differs in its brown-staining gills and flesh; it is recorded under beech in Michigan and Tennessee. Lactarius gerardii var. subrubescens stains reddish, and has shorter spore ornamentation; it is recorded from Maine to Costa Rica. Further Online Information: Lactarius gerardii in Hesler & Smith (1979) |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2004, August). Lactarius gerardii. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lactarius_gerardii.html |