Lactarius chrysorrheus
Encyclopedia
Lactarius chrysorrheus (sometimes spelt Lactarius chrysorheus) is a member of the Lactarius
genus, whose many members are commonly known as Milkcaps. It has recently been given the English (common) name of the Yellowdrop Milkcap. It is pale salmon in color, poisonous, and grows in symbiosis with oak
trees.
. The specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek
words chryso- "golden", and rheos "stream". Common names include yellow milkcap, and yellowdrop milkcap.
is 3–8 cm (1.2–3.1 in) in diameter. It is pale salmon, or rosy, with darker markings arranged in rough rings, or bands. At first it is convex, but later flattens, and eventually has a small central depression. It is often somewhat lobed at the edge, and is smooth, with a hairless margin. The whitish to pale buff stipe
sometimes has a pink flush on the lower half. It is hollow, cylindrical, or with a slightly swollen base. The gills are decurrent, crowded, and have a pinkish buff tinge, giving a spore print
that is creamy white, with a slight salmon tinge. They are quite closely spaced initially. The flesh is white and tastes hot, but is coloured by the copious amounts of milk exuded. This milk is initially white, but when exposed to the air turns bright sulphur yellow in five to fifteen seconds.
Many Lactarius
species are similarly coloured, but not too many exude white milk that turns sulphur yellow. However, those that do include Lactarius maculatipes
, and Lactarius croceus which are found with hardwoods in the north eastern United States
, and Lactarius vinaceorufescens
is locally abundant with both hard and soft woods there too. None of these can be found in Britain; Lactarius decipiens is on the British checklist, but is smaller than L. chrysorrheus, and grows with Hornbeam
.
, North America
, and also North Africa
. It is mycorrhizal with oak
trees in Britain
.
The milk is extremely acrid.
Lactarius
Lactarius is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi. The genus, collectively known commonly as milk-caps, are characterized by the fact that they exude a milky fluid if cut or damaged...
genus, whose many members are commonly known as Milkcaps. It has recently been given the English (common) name of the Yellowdrop Milkcap. It is pale salmon in color, poisonous, and grows in symbiosis with oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees.
Taxonomy
First described by the Swedish father of modern mycology Elias Magnus FriesElias Magnus Fries
-External links:*, Authors of fungal names, Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming.*...
. The specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words chryso- "golden", and rheos "stream". Common names include yellow milkcap, and yellowdrop milkcap.
Description
The capPileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...
is 3–8 cm (1.2–3.1 in) in diameter. It is pale salmon, or rosy, with darker markings arranged in rough rings, or bands. At first it is convex, but later flattens, and eventually has a small central depression. It is often somewhat lobed at the edge, and is smooth, with a hairless margin. The whitish to pale buff stipe
Stipe (mycology)
thumb|150px|right|Diagram of a [[basidiomycete]] stipe with an [[annulus |annulus]] and [[volva |volva]]In mycology a stipe refers to the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile hyphal...
sometimes has a pink flush on the lower half. It is hollow, cylindrical, or with a slightly swollen base. The gills are decurrent, crowded, and have a pinkish buff tinge, giving a spore print
Spore print
thumb|300px|right|Making a spore print of the mushroom Volvariella volvacea shown in composite: mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print...
that is creamy white, with a slight salmon tinge. They are quite closely spaced initially. The flesh is white and tastes hot, but is coloured by the copious amounts of milk exuded. This milk is initially white, but when exposed to the air turns bright sulphur yellow in five to fifteen seconds.
Many Lactarius
Lactarius
Lactarius is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi. The genus, collectively known commonly as milk-caps, are characterized by the fact that they exude a milky fluid if cut or damaged...
species are similarly coloured, but not too many exude white milk that turns sulphur yellow. However, those that do include Lactarius maculatipes
Lactarius maculatipes
Lactarius maculatipes is a member of the large milk-cap genus Lactarius in the order Russulales. The species was described as new to science by mycologist Gertrude S. Burlingham in 1942....
, and Lactarius croceus which are found with hardwoods in the north eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Lactarius vinaceorufescens
Lactarius vinaceorufescens
Lactarius vinaceorufescens, commonly known as the yellow-staining milkcap or the yellow-latex milky, is a poisonous species of fungus in the Russulaceae family. It produces mushrooms with pinkish-cinnamon caps up to wide held by pinkish-white stems up to long. The closely spaced whitish to...
is locally abundant with both hard and soft woods there too. None of these can be found in Britain; Lactarius decipiens is on the British checklist, but is smaller than L. chrysorrheus, and grows with Hornbeam
Hornbeam
Hornbeams are relatively small hardwood trees in the genus Carpinus . Though some botanists grouped them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae, modern botanists place the hornbeams in the birch subfamily Coryloideae...
.
Distribution and habitat
Lactarius chrysorrheus appears in summer and autumn. It is frequent in the northern temperate zones, EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and also North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. It is mycorrhizal with oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Edibility
This mushroom is recorded as poisonous by Roger Phillips (2006) and Lamaison, and as edible by Marcel Bon (1987). Consumption of the several species of poisonous milkcaps results in predominantly acute gastrointestinal symptoms which can be severe.The milk is extremely acrid.