| Major Groups > Gilled Mushrooms > Pale-Spored > Lactarius > Lactarius subpurpureus |
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Lactarius subpurpureus [ Basidiomycetes > Russulales > Russulaceae > Lactarius . . . ] by Michael Kuo Like several of the milky caps with colored milk, Lactarius subpurpureus is fairly easy to identify. Key features include the deep red milk, the pinkish to vinaceous zoned or spotted cap, and the tendency of the cap and gills to bruise and discolor green. The caps fade fairly quickly. Edibility is not completely known for this species. It may be one of those mushrooms that affects some people adversely, while others are able to eat it happily. I don't recommend experimenting. Description: Ecology: Mycorrhizal with Eastern Hemlock and other conifers; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains. Cap: 3-10 cm; at first convex; becoming flat, with a shallow central depression, or vase-shaped; dry or slightly sticky; the margin naked, sometimes lined in age; smooth; zoned with concentric bands of vinaceous red and pale pink, fading in age; sometimes more spotted than zoned; bruising green. Gills: Attached to the stem or running slightly down it; nearly distant; vinaceous red and typically remaining so longer than the cap (see top illustration); bruising and spotting green. Stem: 3-8 cm long; .5-1.5 cm thick; colored like the cap or paler; more or less equal; sometimes spotted or pitted; becoming hollow. Flesh: Whitish to pink; staining red, eventually green. Milk: Deep red; scanty. Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste mild to faintly peppery. Spore Print: Pale cream. Microscopic Features: Spores 8-11 x 6.5-8 µ; broadly elliptical; ornamentation with scattered connectors, occasionally partially reticulate, with prominences 0.2-0.5 µ high. REFERENCES: Peck, 1878. (Saccardo, 1887; Coker, 1918; Kauffman, 1918; Hesler & Smith, 1979; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Nuytinck et al., 2006.) Herb. Kuo 09040205. Further Online Information: Lactarius subpurpureus in Hesler & Smith (1979) |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2003, January). Lactarius subpurpureus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lactarius_subpurpureus.html |