Faded Miller (Lactarius vietus)
Systematics:
- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Incertae sedis (undefined)
- Order: Russulales
- Family: Russulaceae (Russula)
- Genus: Lactarius (Miller)
- Species: Lactarius vietus (Miller)
Synonyms:
-
Swamp wave
The pale milky (Lactarius vietus) is a mushroom of the Russula family, belonging to the genus Millechnik.
External description of the mushroom
The fruit body of the lactarius (Lactarius vietus) consists of a stem and a cap. The hymenophore is represented by the lamellar type. The plates in it are often located, have a whitish tint, slightly descend along the stem, yellow-ocher in color, but turn gray when pressed or damaged in their structure.
The diameter of the cap can be from 3 to 8 (sometimes 10) cm. It is characterized by fleshiness, but at the same time it is thin, in immature mushrooms it has a bulge in the center. The color of the cap is wine-brown or brownish, in the central part it is darker, and lighter at the edges. The contrast is especially noticeable in mature mature mushrooms. There are no concentric areas on the cap.
The length of the leg varies in the range of 4-8 cm, and the diameter is 0.5-1 cm. It is cylindrical in shape, sometimes flattened or widened towards the base. It can be curved or even, in young fruiting bodies, it is solid, subsequently becomes hollow. It is slightly lighter in color than the cap, it can have a light brown or cream shade.
The flesh of the mushroom is very thin and brittle, initially white in color, gradually turns white, has no smell. The milky juice of the fungus is characterized by abundance, white color and pungency; upon contact with air, it becomes olive or gray.
The color of the spore powder is light ocher.
Habitat and period of fruiting
The mushroom is widespread on the continents of North America and Eurasia. You can meet him often, and the faded milky grows in large groups and colonies. Fruiting bodies of the fungus grow in deciduous and mixed forests, form mycorrhiza with birch wood.
Mass fruiting of the mushroom continues throughout September, and the first harvest of the faded milky can be harvested in mid-August. Grows in mixed and deciduous forests with birches and pines. Prefers swampy areas with high levels of humidity and mossy areas. Fruiting frequently and every year.
Edibility
The pale milky (Lactarius vietus) belongs to the category of conditionally edible mushrooms, it is eaten, mainly salted, before salting, it is pre-soaked for 2-3 days, after which it is boiled for 10-15 minutes.
Similar species, distinctive features from them
The faded milky (Lactarius vietus) is similar in appearance to the edible mushroom silver serush, especially when it is damp outside and the fruit body of the faded milky acquires a lilac hue. Its main difference from serushki is a thinner and more fragile structure, a high frequency of the location of the plates, milky juice gray in the air, a cap with a sticky surface. The described species is similar to the purple lilac. True, when cut, the flesh becomes lilac, and in the faded milkman it becomes gray.
Another similar species can be called the papillary lactarius (Lactarius mammosus), which grows only under conifers and is characterized by a fruity (with an admixture of coconut) aroma and a darker color of its cap.
An ordinary lactician also looks like a faded milkman, but the difference in this case is its large size, a dark shade of the cap and milky juice, which becomes yellow-brown when it dries.
