Species details
Orange milkcap
Lactarius aurantiacus
Conditional / expert preparation
Photo: Holger Krisp · CC BY 3.0 · Photo source · License
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Description
A small orange milkcap with a smooth dry cap, orange stem, and white slightly acrid latex.
Identification features
The cap is yellow-orange to orange, smooth, and dry. Gills are pale orange to pinkish. The stem is orange and the latex generally remains white.
Identification checklist
Check the evenly orange dry cap, pale orange gills, and white latex. Also compare tree association and smell.
Detailed features
- Cap
- The cap is yellow-orange to orange, smooth, and dry.
- Hymenophore
- Gills are pale orange to pinkish.
- Stem
- The stem is orange and the latex generally remains white.
- Smell
- No distinctive smell.
Habitat
Grows in coniferous and deciduous woodland, especially with spruce, pine, and willow, on acidic soils, in summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
July, August, September, October, November
Ecology
- Trophic mode
- Mycorrhizal
- Host trees
- Spruce (Picea), Pine (Pinus), Willow (Salix)
- Substrate
- Forest soil
- Soil
- Acidic
- Notes
- Grows in coniferous and deciduous woodland, especially with spruce, pine, and willow, on acidic soils, in summer and autumn.
How to separate similar species
Other orange and reddish-brown milkcaps can look very similar; latex changes, smell, and habitat matter more than colour alone.
Similar species
- Rufous milkcap (Lactarius rufus)
- Curry milkcap (Lactarius camphoratus)
- Lactarius subdulcis
Interesting facts
Did you know? Check the evenly orange dry cap, pale orange gills, and white latex. Also compare tree association and smell.