| Major Groups > Gilled Mushrooms > Pale-Spored > Lactarius > Lactarius piperatus |
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Lactarius piperatus [ Basidiomycetes > Russulales > Russulaceae > Lactarius . . . ] by Michael Kuo This milky cap has several look-alikes and many varieties (see the discussion below), but can be recognized by its whitish cap, its very crowded gills, and its excruciatingly hot or peppery taste. Its milk is white, but it may dry greenish or yellowish on the gills--or it may not. The margin of the cap is more or less even. Description (var. piperatus): Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods; growing gregariously or scattered; summer and fall; widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains. Cap: 5-15 cm; at first convex; becoming flat, with a shallow central depression, or vase-shaped; dry; the margin even; smooth or slightly wrinkled; white or whitish, sometimes yellowish; sometimes stained tan. Gills: Attached to the stem or running slightly down it; quite crowded; many forking; white becoming pale cream. Stem: 2-8 cm long; 1-2.5 cm thick; white; more or less equal, or tapering somewhat to base; smooth; solid. Flesh: White; thick; hard. Milk: Copious; white; sometimes drying greenish or yellowish (see varieties, below). Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste excruciatingly hot or peppery. Spore Print: White. Chemical Reactions: KOH magenta to orangish on cap surface. Microscopic Features: Spores 5-7 x 5-5.5 µ; broadly elliptical or more or less round; ornamentation as isolated warts with scattered connectors (rarely forming partial reticula) with prominences only about 0.2 µ high. REFERENCES: (Linnaeus, 1753) Persoon, 1797. (Saccardo, 1887; Kauffman, 1918; Hesler & Smith, 1979; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Weber & Smith, 1985; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Metzler & Metzler, 1992; Horn, Kay & Abel, 1993; Heilmann-Clausen et al., 1998; Barron, 1999; Miller & Miller, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 09039402, 07079701, 08240202, 08270216, 07150703. The principal variety is var. glaucescens, distinguished by the milk, which dries greenish on the gills and other tissues (see bottom illustration). This variety is sometimes known as Lactarius glaucescens. However, Hesler and Smith (1979) record many varieties of this variety, creating seven "groups" with different macrofeatures and different reactions to chemicals. For the full details, follow the link below to their description of var. glaucescens. Further Online Information: Lactarius piperatus var. piperatus in Hesler & Smith (1979) |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2002, September). Lactarius piperatus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lactarius_piperatus.html |