Lactarius cinerus
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactarius maculatipes Burl.
SYNONYM: None
COMMON NAME: None
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 4 in. wide; whitish to cream, yellowish or ochraceous at the center, convex to flat with a depressed center and uplifted margin at maturity; surface viscid, bald, at times with pockmarks, obscurely zoned, most often near the margin
FLESH: White, slowly staining yellow; firm; odor not distinctive; taste slowly acrid
GILLS: Whitish, pinkish buff, becoming yellowish; bruising tan; attached to subdecurrent; close to crowded; narrow; sometimes forked; no partial veil
LATEX: White, slowly becoming yellow on exposure; staining tissues yellow; taste slowly acrid
STEM: Up to 3 in. long; whitish; staining yellow; equal or tapering downward; surface with shallow pits, viscid when fresh
SPORE PRINT: Buff to yellowish
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks; scattered to gregarious in humus or grass in broadleaf woodlands and parks; summer and fall; fairly common
EDIBILITY: Unknown
COMMENTS: The pale viscid cap, acrid latex, and pitted stem are key identification features.
Lactarius maculatipes
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactarius psammicola A. H. Sm.
SYNONYM: None
COMMON NAME: None
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 6 in. wide; distinctly zoned with yellowish and buff or whitish and buff zones; convex with a central depression; surface bald, viscid; margin arched and enrolled, hairy in Lactarius psammicola var. psammicola
FLESH: Whitish or with pinkish-cinnamon stains; thick; odor not distinctive; taste acrid
GILLS: Whitish, pinkish buff to cinnamon buff, bruising darker; attached to subdecurrent; close; infrequently forking; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White; drying buff; slowly staining tissues pinkish cinnamon; very acrid
STEM: Up to 2 in. long; whitish, discoloring brownish where handled; equal or tapering downward; central or off-center; hard; becoming hollow in age; surface dry, pitted at times
SPORE PRINT: Pinkish buff
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks and possibly other broadleaf trees; scattered to gregarious in grass and humus; summer and early fall; fairly common
EDIBILITY: Not edible; acrid
COMMENTS: This rather large mushroom with a zoned cap is most commonly seen under oaks in parks and cemeteries. Two forms are recognized. Lactarius psammicola f. psammicola (not illustrated) has a hairy margin, and Lactarius psammicola f. glaber lacks the hairy margin. The latter form is the most common.
Lactarius psammicola
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactifluus allardii (Coker) De Crop
SYNONYM: Lactarius allardii Coker
COMMON NAME: None
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 6 in. wide; pinkish brown to reddish brown, whitish where covered by leaves; convex with an enrolled margin, becoming flat with a central depression; surface dry, not zoned, bald or, at times, velvety, not striate
FLESH: White, slowly staining pinkish and then greenish when cut; thick; firm; odor not distinctive, becoming pungent in age; taste acrid
GILLS: Whitish, staining green where damaged; attached to subdecurrent; close to subdistant; forked; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White at first, becoming greenish and eventually brown on exposure; copious; taste acrid
STEM: Up to 2 in. long; whitish or tinged the color of the cap; equal or tapering down; surface bald, dry
SPORE PRINT: White to creamy white
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal; scattered to gregarious under oak in broadleaf and mixed woodlands; summer and fall; occasional
EDIBILITY: Unknown; not recommended owing to the acrid taste
COMMENTS: Until recently this mushroom was placed in the genus Lactarius. The cap surface resembles that of the very common Russula compacta (p. 24), which lacks latex and has brown-staining gills.
Lactifluus allardii
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lactarius sordidus Peck
SYNONYM: Lactarius turpis (Weinm.) Fr.
COMMON NAME: Sordid Milk Cap
FAMILY: Russulaceae
CAP: Up to 5 in. wide; dark yellowish brown, dark olive brown at the center, at times obscurely zoned; convex to broadly convex, becoming flat, depressed in the center; surface moist or dry, viscid when wet, at first with a felt-like surface
FLESH: White with a pinkish hue, or yellowish; firm; odor not distinctive; taste mild at first, becoming very acrid
GILLS: White to yellowish, staining dull brown to olive brown where damaged; attached to subdecurrent; close; narrow to medium broad; some forking; edges even; no partial veil
LATEX: White to whitish on exposure, not changing, or becoming slightly greenish; staining the gills brown; usually copious; acrid
STEM: Up to 3 in. long; olive or brownish olive, streaked or spotted; surface viscid when wet, with occasional pockmarks; solid becoming hollow
SPORE PRINT: Whitish to cream or pale buff
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal; solitary to scattered in moss or humus in conifer and mixed woodlands; late summer and fall; occasional
EDIBILITY: Not edible; acrid
COMMENTS: Considered a synonym of Lactarius turpis by some investigators, Lactarius sordidus has drab colors that make it easily overlooked. A similar species with a darker greenish-black cap is Lactarius atroviridis (not illustrated). It is found under oaks and in mixed woods. Most would not find any of this milk cap group very attractive.
Lactarius sordidus