Brittlegills (Russula) and Milkcaps (Lactarius & Lactifluus)

Brittlegills (Russula)

• Found on the ground (mycorrhizal)
• Wide range of colors → have a water-soluble color that sometimes looks mottled or faded 
• Brittle gills that flake off easily when brushed
• Stubby stalks, which break off like chalk 

Milkcaps (Lactarius & Lactifluus)

• Found on the ground (mycorrhizal)
• Bleed “milk” when cut → latex-like substance which might be used to deter herbivory

 

Brittlegills (Russula)

Fishbiscuit Russula (Russula compacta)

Purple-bloom Russula (Russula mariae)

Blue-green Cracking Russula (Russula parvovirescens)

 

Milkcaps (Lactarius & Lactifluus)

 

Candycap (Lactarius camphoratus)

Notes: also called Curry Milkcap, Aromatic Milky; on the smaller side for milkys but the cap can be

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground; conifer or deciduous woods, especially Hemlock; [season]

Cap: small, up to 2” in diameter; conical to convex to a sunken center, often with a knob; smooth; entire margin; reddish-brown, darker at the center; dry

Gills: broadly attached or decurrent; crowded to close; pale shade of cap and stem (pink-cinnamon, cream-colored) 

Stem: ⅛” to ⅝” diameter; reddish brown; hoary and with coarse, stiff hairs at the base; dry

Flesh: watery white latex; strongly sweet; burnt sugar, maple syrup, curry – up to interpretation

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: The common name applies to a few different species. The only other one found east of the Rockies, Lactarius fragilis, also smells sweet but has yellow gills and is mostly found farther South. 

 

Hygrophorus Milkcap (Lactifluus hygrophoroides)

Notes: 

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground, in moss, or sandy soil along streams and rivers; deciduous and mixed forests, especially under oaks; summer and early fall

Cap: convex to flat with a depression; smooth and sometimes velvety or wrinkled; incurved at first and uplifted with age; peach tones – orange, pink, tan; dry 

Gills: broadly attached to subdecurrent; distantly spaced; cross-veined; creamy white to pale yellow 

Stem: equal; orange-brown; smooth and solid; dry

Flesh: copious white latex, not staining 

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: Weeping Milk Cap (Lactifluus volemus) has crowded gills, latex that stains brown, and a fishy odor.

 

Weeping Milkcap (Lactifluus volemus) 

Notes: also called Tawny, Orange, Bradley, or Leatherback Milkcap

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; in lawns or humus or moss; deciduous or mixed forests, especially under oaks; summer to early fall

Cap: convex to plano-convex to flat with a depression; smooth, velvety – concentrically wrinkled; entire margin, incurved at first; orange to a duller orange-brown, there is a variety of this species which is overall lighter in color as well; dry

Gills: broadly attached to subdeccurent; crowded; can range from white to yellow or cream-colored 

Stem: equal; slightly paler color than the cap; smooth; dry

Flesh: latex white and copious, staining brown; fishy smell

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: Hygrophorus Milkcap (Lactifluus hygrophoroides) has more distant gills and the milk does not stain. 

 

Indigo Milk Cap (Lactarius indigo)

Notes: 

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground; deciduous and coniferous forest, associated with oaks and pines; summer and fall

Cap: convex to flat and depressed; smooth surface; margin inrolled at first; indigo-blue, fading to grey-blue, and coloring is zoned; viscid 

Gills: broadly attached to decurrent; close; blue, fading or bruising to green

Stem: equal or tapering to base; colored as cap; smooth; viscid becoming dry 

Flesh: blue latex!; flesh turns blue when but, becoming greenish; smell not distinctive

Spore print: cream to yellow

Look-a-likes: No look-a-likes, blue latex tells all!

 

Chocolate Milky (Lactarius lignyotus group)

Notes: quite a few varieties

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; in humus or moss; coniferous forests; summer to fall

Cap: convex to flat, often depressed or knobbed (sometimes a sharp point); velvety; radially wrinkled; black-brown to yellow-brown; dry

Gills: broadly attached to decurrent; crowded to subdistant; white or yellowish 

Stem: equal; colored as the cap, white as the base; minutely velvet; dry

Flesh: white staining pinkish (slow to change); latex white drying pink and staining paper brown; smell not distinctive

Spore print: white to orange-yellow

Look-alikes: 

• Lactarius lignyotus var. canadensis

  • Brown “marginate” gills – the gill edges are colored differently than the faces

  • Described in Michigan, reported under spruce in bogs 

• Lactarius lignyotus var. nigroviolascens

  • Flesh stains dark violet rather than pink or reddish

  • Gills are not marginate

  • Reported in humus or on sphagnum, in hemlock bogs

• Lactarius lignyotus var. marginatus

  • Dark violet staining flesh + brown-marginate gills

  • Reported in bogs

• Lactarius lignyotellus

  • Brown-marginate gills do not stain at all

  • Associated with Red Spruce, Fraser fir, and Hemlock farther south (NC, VA, TN, WV)