Lactarius payettensis

[ Basidiomycetes > Russulales > Russulaceae > Lactarius . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This milky cap is most frequently found in the Rocky Mountains under spruce and fir; whether its range extends westward to the Pacific is unclear. Its milk is scanty and white, and stains the gills and flesh yellowish. In older specimens, the edges of the gills are dirty brownish yellow where stains have occurred (enlarge the illustration for an example). Other distinctive features include the stem, which is covered with potholes and which discolors brownish on handling or with age; and the slimy yellowish cap, which has a hairy margin when young, and fibers that darken with age. The taste is excruciatingly acrid.

There are a number of similar species of Lactarius, including Lactarius scrobiculatus and Lactarius alnicola. The latter, however, has a more or less smooth cap margin, even when young; the former has white milk that turns yellow on exposure to air, and lacks the brown bruising on the stem.

Edibility is uncertain for Lactarius payettensis, but one bite is enough to change your mind about ever wanting to experiment. Still, if you like rubbing your tongue with a towel in a vain attempt to get rid of the burning, you should by all means cook some Lactarius payettensis up for dinner.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with spruces and firs (particularly Engelmann Spruce and Subalpine Fir); summer and fall; in the Rocky Mountains from Colorado to Idaho, possibly westward as well.

Cap: 8-16 cm; broadly convex with an inrolled and somewhat bearded margin when young; becoming shallowly depressed or vase-shaped with an uplifted margin; slimy when fresh; typically somewhat roughened; with fibers, especially toward the margin, that are appressed under the slime and darken with age; olive buff or yellowish white when young, becoming dingy brownish yellow.

Gills: Beginning to run down the stem; close or almost distant; creamy when young, dirty yellowish in age; often stained dirty yellowish brown on the edges in age.

Stem: 2-5 cm long; 2-4 cm thick; equal or tapering to base; slimy when fresh; with many potholes; whitish; bruising and discoloring brownish.

Flesh: Whitish; firm; dingy yellowish in age.

Milk: White, unchanging; scanty.

Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste immediately excruciatingly acrid.

Spore Print: Creamy white or pale yellowish.

Microscopic Features: Spores 8-10 x 7-8 µ; elliptical; ornamentation with prominences about 0.5 µ high; connecting lines infrequent, not forming a complete reticulum.

REFERENCES: Smith, 1960. (Hesler & Smith, 1979; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Phillips, 1991/2005.) Herb. Kuo 07290306.

Further Online Information:

Lactarius payettensis in Hesler & Smith, 1979
Lactarius payettensis at Roger's Mushrooms

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, January). Lactarius payettensis. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lactarius_payettensis.html