Bittersweet

Bitter (Lactarius rufus)

Systematics:

• Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
• Branch: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
• Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
• Subclass: Incertae sedis (Uncertain)
• Order: Russulales
• Family: Russulaceae (Russula)
• Genus: Lactarius (Miller)
• Species: Lactarius rufus (Bitter)

Other names for the fungus:
• Red bitter
• Goryanka
• Putik

Synonyms:

• Red bitter

• Bitter bitter

• Gorchak

• Goryanka

• Putik

Bitters (lat.Lactarius rufus) – a mushroom of the genus Mlecnik (Lactarius) of the family Russula (Russulaceae).

Description: Bitter hat up to 12 cm in diameter, flat-convex, funnel-shaped, fleshy, dry with age, red-brown, matte, with a sharp tubercle in the middle, around which is depressed. It is characteristic that in mature specimens it painted in dark red or red-brown. Sometimes lighter circular zones are possible. Surface thinly grooved, has a dull matte color.

The flesh is thin, with a smell of resinous wood. Milky juice is pungent, white, very plentiful. The plates are narrow, frequent, first reddish yellow, later reddish brown, in old age with whitish bloom, slightly descending on the leg. Spore powder whitish.

Leg Gorkushka long – up to 10 cm, thickness – up to 2 cm, cylindrical, white-milk, at the base has pubescence, in young, solid, later hollow. In young mushrooms the surface is whitish, in older ones it is pinkish or rusty red. The foot can be painted the same way as the hat.

Doubles: Bitter mixed up with edible camphor breast (Lactarius camphoratus), which has a smell dry roots, and with a slightly bitter orange breast (Lactarius badiosanguineus), with a strong red-chestnut hat with a dark center and also painted leg. Similar swamp (Lactarius sphagneti), which is colored the same as bitter, grows in moist, swampy spruce-pine forests.

Note: The word rufus in the name of the mushroom means “ginger”.

Edibility: Bitter-conditionally-edible mushroom, often referred to as fourth category. Used in pickle and pickled form after pretreatment – thorough boiling or soaking. In the pickle, it acquires a dark brown color.

In medicine, Bitter (Lactarius rufus) contains anti-biotic substance bacteria, as well as inhibiting the growth of golden cultures staphylococcus.

Photo of the bitter mushroom from questions in recognition:

2016.10.27 2016.11.21 2016.11.18 Евгений 2016.11.26 2017.10.28 2017.02.22