Lactarius pallescens

Lactarius pallescens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Russulales
Family: Russulaceae
Genus: Lactarius
Species:
L. pallescens
Binomial name
Lactarius pallescens
Hesler & A.H. Sm. (1979)
Lactarius pallescens
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Gills on hymenium
Cap is flat or depressed
Hymenium is subdecurrent
Stipe is bare
Spore print is white
Ecology is mycorrhizal
Edibility is unknown

Lactarius pallescens is a Western North American "milk-cap" mushroom, of which the milk turns violet when the flesh is damaged. The fungi generally identified as L. pallescens are part of a complex of closely related species and varieties which have a peppery taste and are difficult to delimit definitively.[1]

The gray-brown cap ranges from 3 to 10 cm in width, with a mucilaginous surface,[2] whitish flesh and white latex. The gills are whitish and sometimes slightly decurrent.[2] The viscid stalk ranges from 3 to 8 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide. The spores are pale yellow to orange, elliptical, and bumpy. The flesh of the mushroom stains lilac.[3] In age, reddish stains develop.[2]

Distribution

Lactarius pallescens is found on the West Coast of the United States. In the Pacific Northwest, it can be found in conifer forests.[2]

Lactarius uvidus (a close relative)[3][2] and Lactarius californiensis are similar.

Spores 1000x in Melzers

See also

References

  1. ^ Wood, Miichael (2013 January). Lactarius pallescens. On the MykoWeb.com Web site: [1]
  2. ^ a b c d e Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5.
  3. ^ a b Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC 797915861.