Species details
Rufous milkcap
Lactarius rufus
Conditional / expert preparation
Photo: Susanna · CC BY 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A reddish-brown milkcap with a distinct central boss, white latex, and very acrid taste.
Identification features
The cap is dry, reddish-brown, and often sharply bossed. Gills are crowded, pale, and later brownish. The stem is similar in colour to the cap; latex is white and very acrid.
Identification checklist
Check the dry reddish-brown bossed cap, white latex, spruce habitat, and crowded gills. FungiTrail does not recommend tasting latex.
How to separate similar species
Curry milkcap is smaller and strongly smells of camphor/coumarin. Other brown milkcaps can be very similar.
Habitat
Common with conifers, especially in damp spruce woodland, from summer to late autumn.
Fruiting period
July, August, September, October, November