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Photos and descriptions of milky mushrooms should be studied by every novice mushroom picker. This genus combines several hundred mushroom varieties, and some of them are very common in the forests of Russia.
General description of the milkmen
Millers, or lamellar mushrooms from the russula family, are called Lactarius in Latin and are translated as "dairy" or "milk-giving". They can vary greatly in appearance. Most often they have a lamellar cap and a centered leg without a cover; in some varieties, the leg is thick and short. The cap of the fungal genus is usually flat, slightly concave or funnel-shaped, with plates on the lower surface descending to the stem.
The genus Lactarius has several hundred varieties, both edible and inedible.
In color, the fruit bodies differ very widely and can be white and olive-black, grayish and bluish, yellow and orange, brown and brown. The color depends on the specific variety. Likewise, the skin on the surface of the cap can be dry and velvety or sticky and gooey.
The most common types of milkmen
Due to the large species diversity, it is impossible to give a clear general characteristic to mushrooms of this genus. Therefore, mushroom pickers should carefully study the photos and descriptions of the types of milkmen, so as not to confuse them with each other.
Ordinary (Gladysh)
Gladysh, or common milky, is a medium-sized mushroom with a flat or slightly concave cap. Its surface is smooth, sticky in rainy weather, the leg is cylindrical, gray-yellow or almost white.
The color is usually purple-gray at a young age and brown-pink or gray-pink at an adult. The pulp is brittle and light, with a fruity aroma, the juice at the smoothie is white, in the air it becomes greenish-gray. The species is classified as edible, although it requires soaking and cooking. You can collect it from August to mid-autumn.
Oak (zonal)
The oak, or zonal milkcap, or the bush, has at first a flat-convex, and then a funnel-shaped cap of a red-brown or brown-red hue. The smooth cylindrical leg rises 3-6 cm above the ground and is the same color as the cap. The skin is dry, in wet weather it can become a little sticky.
At the bottom, the oak milky is light brown, with a whitish sap that does not change color from contact with air. The smell of the pulp is unpleasant and resembles the smell of a bug. Despite this, the milky mushroom is edible and suitable for pickling. They collect it in the forests from July to the end of October.
Camphor
The camphor milky is a small fruiting body with an open or slightly depressed cap with ribbed edges. The color is reddish brown, the surface is matte and smooth. The stem of the fruiting body is the same color with the cap and velvety in the upper part, the plates are frequent, pinkish, darkening in adulthood.
It belongs to the category of edible and is used for salting, and it can be harvested in August and September.
Milk lover
Euphorbia or milkweed looks like a lamellar mushroom with an open and slightly concave cap up to 16 cm in diameter. The edges of the cap are even and thin, the surface is dry and smooth, and in color the fruit bodies are brownish-brown, reddish-brown, sometimes light ocher or rusty. In dry weather, the skins of the milk lover often crack.
The stem is paler than the main fruiting body, the pulp is white or yellowish, dense, with a pronounced herring smell. Milky sap is white; in air it quickly turns brown and thickens.
The milk lover is good for human consumption and grows from July to mid-October.
Twisty (Serushka)
The sinuous milky, or Serushka, has a funnel-shaped uneven cap with a tubercle in the middle, grayish with a lead tint. On the cap, you can see narrow, wide-diverging dark circles. The bottom plates are sparse and thick, the stem is dense and slightly lighter in shade.
The flesh of the serushka is whitish, dense, abundantly secreting a watery milky juice that does not change color upon contact with air. The species is considered conditionally edible and is used in salting, and it must be harvested from mid-summer to the end of autumn.
Golden
The golden milky, or golden yellow breast, has an open cap covered with a smooth matte skin. On its surface, you can see dark spots, the cap itself is yellow-ocher in color. The stem is whitish, with a gradual transition to a pink-orange hue, the plates are white in young fruiting bodies and pink in adults.
The golden appearance has a fragile white flesh without a characteristic odor, at the break it releases milky juice, which quickly turns yellow in air. The species is not suitable for consumption, it has a very sharp bitter taste. You can meet him from mid-summer to late autumn.
Mayor's Miller
In the photo and in the description of edible milky mushrooms, you can find the Mayor's milkman, he is distinguished by an open hat covered with a smooth and dry skin of a light cream shade. Diverging circles of pinkish or clay color are noticeable on the surface, along the edges you can notice a low fluff, slightly resembling thorns or short needles. The diameter of the top is about 12 cm, the stem rises 4 cm above the ground and is usually cream or creamy yellow in color.
The flesh of the fruit bodies is whitish, dense, with a distinct fruity aroma. The species is edible and consumed in any form, and it is harvested from early to mid-autumn.
Brownish
Brownish milkweed is easily recognizable by its funnel-shaped cap with thin wavy edges about 10 cm wide. The color is usually gray-brown or brown, darker in the center. The surface of the skin is dry and smooth, slightly velvety, sometimes in dry weather pale spots appear on the cap. The stem is rounded with a thickening towards the base, about 6 cm in height, the same color as the cap.
The pulp is dense, creamy, turns pink at the cut. White milky juice, abundantly protruding from the pulp, becomes red from contact with air. The edible milky mushroom is eaten even without soaking and pre-cooking, it tastes good. You need to collect it from July to early October.
Gray pink
The gray-pink milky is distinguished by a pinkish-brown hue of the fruiting body.The cap is funnel-shaped with a tubercle in the middle and curled edges, the plates are whitish and descending to the stem.
The light yellow pulp of this species emits a spicy aroma reminiscent of the smell of chicory. At the same time, the species is usually not used for food, it is toxic and inedible. You can meet the gray-pink variety from August to the end of September.
Non-caustic (orange)
A non-caustic milkman can be recognized by its apricot-colored, funnel-shaped cap, dry and velvety. The stem does not differ in color from the rest of the fruiting body, dense, hollow in mature mushrooms. The pulp is bright orange, does not have a characteristic odor and abundantly emitting white milky juice, and the juice does not change its color from contact with air.
The mushroom grows from mid-July to the last days of October. The conditionally edible species can be used for salting after soaking and boiling.
Fragrant
Fragrant miller has a flattened slightly depressed cap with turned-up edges. It is usually flesh-gray in color, white at the break, with a coconut aroma and white milky sap that does not change its hue from contact with air.
The stem is slightly lighter, smooth and loose, the plates are thin and frequent, flesh-colored. The mushroom is conditionally edible and can be eaten salted, pickled and fresh after a short boil. You need to collect it from August to the end of October.
Sticky (slimy)
Slimy, or sticky, lactic acid has a slightly depressed sticky cap of olive, brownish or gray color with a tucked edge. The diameter does not exceed 10 cm, the plates on the underside are white and frequent. The stem of the mushroom is up to 8 cm tall, dense and lighter in shade. At the rift, the mushroom releases a white, copious sap that turns olive in the air. The flesh is white and firm.
The miller variety is suitable for salting after soaking, and you need to collect the mushroom from July to the end of September.
Zoneless
A zoneless lactarius has a flat, slightly depressed cap with smooth edges and a dry velvety skin. In color, the mushroom is sandy, brown, light or dark brown, with narrow escaping plates in the lower part. The stem is cylindrical and dense, up to 9 cm in height, usually the same color as the cap or slightly lighter.
The pulp of the mushroom is light, dense in structure, turns pink on the cut, with a light spicy aroma. The milky juice of the fungus is white; in the air it quickly acquires a pink-orange color. The zoneless milk jug belongs to the edible category and is suitable for pickling and salting at a young age. You need to collect it from July to the last days of September.
Prickly
Thorny milky is a small mushroom with a matte and dry reddish-pink cap, flat-convex in shape. Dark concentric circles are noticeable on the surface of the cap, the stem of the mushroom is round or slightly flattened, only up to 5 cm in height.
The flesh of the mushroom is brittle, lilac in color, with a pungent unpleasant aroma and white milky juice that turns green in the air. The prickly variety is not poisonous, but inedible and not used for food. Fruit bodies grow from August to October.
Sweetish (Krasnushka)
The sweetish milky, or Krasnushka, is distinguished by the reddish-red color of the open hat with tucked edges. The leg is low, slightly lighter than the cap, the flesh is whitish with abundant milky juice, first white, and then watery and translucent.
Rubella grows from mid-summer to late October. The sweetish look is conditionally edible, it can be used for food, but only after boiling and preferably salted.
Poisonous milkmen
There are quite a few frankly toxic and dangerous species among the representatives of the genus Lactarius, but there are poisonous milkmen. If you eat them carelessly, you can seriously poison yourself.
Thyroid lactic
You can recognize an inedible mushroom by a slightly concave cap with a mucous surface. The color of the mushroom is ocher-yellow, brownish-yellow, acquiring a brownish-purple or lilac hue when pressed.The milky juice of the mushroom is white, it turns purple in the air, the same thing happens with the white pulp when it breaks. It is not used for food, since it is considered to be slightly toxic.
Orange milkman
A small mushroom with a concave-spread bright orange cap has a white or slightly yellowish flesh. The mushroom has a characteristic orange aroma, the milky juice is white and does not change its hue in the air. The surface of the cap of the mushroom is sticky in wet weather, smooth to the touch. The orange milkweed is not suitable for human consumption.
Bitter milkman
A small mushroom, which is also called a bitter mushroom, has a depressed dry cap of an ocher-brown, reddish, reddish or copper hue. The flesh of the mushroom is whitish or creamy, the milky juice is transparent whitish and does not change color from contact with air. The mushroom is inedible and usually not used in food because of too strong bitterness and pungency.
Brown-yellow milky
A photo of a poisonous lactarius shows a small mushroom with a flattened cap with dry skin that is red-brown, dark orange or orange-brown in color. The inedible mushroom has a whitish flesh with a pungent aftertaste. The milky sap at the fault stands out white, but quickly turns yellow in air. Fruit bodies of this species are not used for food.
Wet milkman
A mushroom with a mucous, depressed cap has a pale gray or almost white color; concentric circles on the surface of the cap are weakly distinguished. The mushroom juice is white, very quickly turns purple from contact with air, the pulp is also white and takes on a lilac hue at the break. The mushroom does not have a pronounced odor, but the taste is bitter and pungent, therefore it belongs to the category of inedible.
Edible species of milkmen
Although there are poisonous lactariuses, dozens of varieties of mushrooms of this genus are allowed to be consumed. Edible species include:
- common and camphor;
- sinuous and oak;
- the Mayor's milkman and milkman;
- fragrant and non-caustic, or orange;
- zoneless and sticky;
- sweetish and brownish.
To distinguish between edible and inedible species, it is enough to properly study the photo of the mushrooms. In addition, the difference can usually be sensed by lightly licking the fruit body on the cut; inedible mushrooms taste unpleasantly bitter or pungent. Since there are no highly toxic representatives in the genus Lactarius, this method of testing mushrooms does not lead to poisoning.
How the milkmen prepare
A photo and description of milky mushrooms suggests cooking them usually in pickled or salted form. Cold processing of fruit bodies with a lot of salt, seasonings and spices helps to preserve the taste and benefits of mushrooms for a long time, and also removes the remnants of a possible unpleasant aftertaste. Also, fruit bodies are suitable for frying, but they are less often heat treated.
Most often, milky mushrooms are sent to salting and pickling
Where and how do milkmen grow
A photo and description of edible and inedible milky mushrooms claims that they can be found in Russia throughout the country - in the south and in the middle lane, in Siberia and the Urals, in Primorye. Mushrooms grow most often on moist soils in mixed and coniferous forests.
Most of the species form mycorrhiza with oaks, birches, spruces and pines. They can often be found in tall grass or mosses, on the outskirts of swamps and near water bodies. On meadows and on the roadside, fruit bodies are quite rare.
Conclusion
Photos and descriptions of milky mushrooms must be studied very carefully - edible and inedible subspecies can be very similar to each other. There are no deadly representatives among the milkmen, but some caution must still be exercised when collecting.
