Lactarius deterrimus (False Saffron Milkcap)

Genus Lactarius

The genus Lactarius is large and widely distributed across the globe. Lactarius belongs together with Russula to the family of the Russulales. Lactarius mushrooms are characteristic for the excretion of a milky fluid when damaged which led to the common name ‘milk-caps’. This genus belongs to the ectomycorrhizal fungi, hence build obligate beneficial association with the roots of many plant species, in particular trees.

Lactarius deterrimus is a fairly common fungus in Britain, which due to its bright carrot orange colour and tinges of green is easily seen on the forest floor. It looks very much like the famous Lactarius deliciosus, which as the name suggest is well-known for its taste and therefore widely picked all across Europe. Our specimen however, is less fortunate in its taste. Although non-poisonous and considered edible - this mushroom is not the first choice for the basket. The name ‘deterrimus’, refereeing to ‘the least good’, is related to the taste of the fungus: slightly bitter. Additionally, the fungus is often infested by maggots, which makes it even harder to find culinary pleasure from the fungus.

The cap, reaching up to 11 cm across, has a convex form with a depressed centre and expands to a funnel shaped form with age. The gills are dense and are salmon to apricot in colour. The stem being 2-5 cm long is salmon to pinkish and turns grey where handled too vigorously. A common feature for the Lactarius species is the hollow stem. The milk of this fungus is reddish orange. Over all, the species is rather variable in its appearance but it is the most common species with orange milk.

Eating large amounts of these fungi or similar fungi that have orange/red milk can turn the colour of the urine red. This however is not harmful.

Look-a-likes:

A similar looking fungus is Lactarius deliciosus which is equally common and widely gathered in Europe, especially in Italy and Spain. Other than the described specimen, L. deliciosus is associated with pine trees. It has a very mild and pleasant taste and smells slightly sweet like carrots or cumarine. The main difference is in the taste which can already be discovered in the milk. Lactarius deliciosus has mild tasting milk while L. deterrimus has bitter tasting milk. Lactarius deterrimus possesses more greenish tinges and has no or very little pits in the stem. Furthermore, the flesh and milk reddens more slowly in L. deterrimus com

pared to L. deliciosus.

Season:

Lactarius deterrimus can be found from July until October

Habitat:

The fungus grows with spruce and can often be found along roadsides and young tree plantations.

Distribution:

The species is known to be fairly common in Britain.

Please remember to submit your records to your local recording group or via the Scottish Fungi online recording form.

By Peggy Ehrlich and Andy Taylor

September 2016

Lactarius deterrimus pictures by Peggy Ehrlich

Lactarius deterrimus distribution map

The National Biodiversity Network Gateway records from FRDBI andHBRG datasets are shown on the above map but note that more recent records may be available via the Gateway (see terms and conditions at http://data.nbn.org.uk). Data providers and the NBN Trust bear no responsibility for any further analysis or interpretation of the information in the map.

Note also that additional records may be available on the Association of British Fungus Groups CATE2 database, but these are not available via the NBN Gateway.