Content
The miller is brown or woody, and also called the moorhead, is a representative of the Russulaceae family, the genus Lactarius. In appearance, the mushroom is very beautiful, dark brown in color with a velvety surface of the cap and leg.
Millechnik brown got its name from the characteristic chestnut color of the cap.
Where does the brown milky grow
The distribution area of the brown milky is quite wide, although the mushroom itself is rare. This species grows in Europe and in the forests of central Russia, namely in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. You can also meet him in the foothills and mountains of the Caucasus and Crimea.
Forms mycorrhiza mainly with spruce (very rarely with pine), therefore, for the most part grows in coniferous forests. It can also be found in mixed forests with an admixture of spruce, as well as in mountainous areas. Prefers marshy and acidic soils.
Fruiting is stable, falling from late July to late September. The highest yield is observed at the beginning of September. Fruit bodies grow singly or in small groups.
What does a woody milky look like?
The hat of a young brown lactarius has a cushion shape with curved edges. With growth, it opens, but retains a bulge in the center, sometimes slightly pointed. At a more mature age, the cap of the fungus becomes funnel-shaped with a small central tubercle, while the edges become wavy-ribbed. The diameter of the cap varies from 3 to 7 cm. The surface is velvety and dry to the touch. The color can be from light brown to dark chestnut.
The hymenophore is lamellar, formed from adherent or descending, often located and wide plates. In a young specimen, they are white or with a yellowish tinge, in maturity they acquire a darker ocher color. Under mechanical stress, the plates turn pinkish. Spores under a microscope have an almost spherical shape with an ornamented surface; in the mass they are yellow powder.
The cap of the woody lactarius becomes wrinkled and rather dry with age.
The leg is of moderate size, reaching up to 8 cm in height and 1 cm in girth. It has a cylindrical shape, tapering downward, often curved. Has no cavity inside. The color is identical to the cap, often lighter at the base. The surface is longitudinally wrinkled, dry and velvety.
The pulp is dense, but very thin, fragile in the cap, and rather tough, leathery in the stem. Its color is white or with a cream shade. At the break, it first turns red, later becomes a yellow-ocher color. Abundantly secretes white milky juice, which gradually turns yellow in the air. The smell and taste are slightly mushroom, without specific features.
The miller is brown according to the description and photo, it is a medium-sized mushroom with a very beautiful chocolate color, which is rather difficult to confuse with other representatives of the mushroom kingdom.
Is it possible to eat brown milky
The brown miller (Lactarius lignyotus) is considered conditionally edible, but only the cap of the mushroom is suitable for eating, since its stem is very fibrous and tough. Due to its rarity, it is not popular with mushroom pickers. They also prefer not to collect it, because in terms of taste and nutritional values, the mushroom is classified in the fourth category.
False doubles
The brown miller, which can be seen in the photo, is similar in appearance to the following mushrooms:
- resinous black milkweed - also belongs to a number of conditionally edible, but the fruiting bodies are larger and the pulp has a sharper taste;
- brownish milky - is edible, grows in deciduous forests, the color is slightly lighter;
- zoneless milk-keeper - an edible mushroom with a flatter cap and smooth edges, light brown color.
Collection rules and use
Collect brown lactic acid infrequently due to its rarity and low nutritional value. You can meet him in early September in coniferous forests. In case of harvest, the fruit bodies are subjected to preliminary soaking for at least 2 hours, after which they are boiled and salted. In this case, only caps are suitable, since the legs are too hard, they do not soften even after heat treatment.
Conclusion
The brown miller is a rare and very beautiful representative of the mushroom kingdom. But due to its low nutritional value, it is harvested quite rarely, giving preference to higher quality species. In addition, in addition to salting, fruit bodies are no longer suitable for cooking other dishes.
