Feeble Milk-cap (Lactarius tabidus)
Index Fungorum Lactarius tabidus Fr
MycoBank Lactarius tabidus Fr
Tender Milk-cap
tābidus, a, um — decomposing, rotting; wasting away, feeble. From tābēs, is f. (f.) decomposition, decay, rotting + -idus (suffix denoting quality or state).
Lactarius mitissimus var. tabidus (Fr.) Quél.
Lactarius subdulcis var. tabidus (Fr.) Quél.
Lactifluus tabidus (Fr.)
In Western literature, the mushroom is considered inedible and possibly even poisonous. The basis for this is not particularly serious—the change in color of the milky latex when exposed to air, from white to yellow. In Russia, however, the mushroom is traditionally classified as conditionally edible.
3–8 cm in diameter; initially hemispherical or convex with incurved margins; as the fruiting body develops, it expands, the margins unfold, and the cap becomes depressed-spreading, eventually forming an irregular funnel shape with a small central umbo or without one. Cap surface dry, smooth or slightly velvety; coloration variable, yellowish-brown, ochre, in any shade or intensity; young mushrooms are generally darker and evenly colored, while in maturity the caps of Feeble Milk-cap may fade in sunlight to a dirty white.
Gills rather crowded, sometimes forked, with numerous short gills ("lamellulae") toward the cap margin, slightly decurrent, light creamy.
3–6 cm high, 0.3–0.7 cm thick at the base, enlarged downward; with a loose pith in young mushrooms, becoming hollow at maturity; stipe surface smooth, concolorous with the cap. White mycelial pubescence can be observed at the base of the stipe.
Thin, brittle, whitish or light pink; taste neutral or slightly acrid; latex rather scanty, mild, white, slowly turning yellow on exposure to air.
Weak, mushroom-like.
Spore print: creamy. Spores broadly ellipsoid, ornamented, amyloid.
A mycorrhizal fungus that forms symbiotic associations. Establishes mycorrhiza with birch or pine. Grows on mossy surfaces, in moist and damp places, singly or in small groups, quite frequently.
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation or its regional Red Lists.
Unlike the sweet milk-cap (Lactarius subdulcis) and the mild milk-cap (Lactarius aurantiacus), the latex of Feeble Milk-cap turns yellow when exposed to air.
One of the earliest and most abundant mushrooms suitable for salting.
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