Species details
Chocolate milkcap
Lactarius lignyotus
Traditionally edible
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A dark brown to nearly black velvety milkcap with pale gills and white latex that turns reddish-brown in air.
Identification features
The cap is 2–8 cm wide, dark brown to black, dry and velvety, often with a low umbo. The stem is dark and longitudinally wrinkled. Damaged flesh and latex gradually redden.
Identification checklist
Key clues are the nearly black velvety cap, dark furrowed stem and white latex that turns reddish-brown after a few minutes.
How to separate similar species
Lactarius picinus is similar and also grows with spruce, but is strongly acrid and inedible.
Habitat
Grows in old spruce woods on acidic soils, often at higher elevations, in late summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
August, September, October
Similar species
- Lactarius picinus
- Lactarius fuliginosus
- Rufous milkcap (Lactarius rufus)