''Lactarius pyrogalus'', commonly known as the fire-milk lactarius, is a species of inedible

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

in genus ''

Lactarius ''Lactarius'' is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several edible species. The species of the genus, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they exude when cut or damaged. Like ...

''. It is greyish and differentiated from other grey ''Lactarius'' by its widely spaced, yellow gills. It is found on the forest floor in mixed woodland, especially at the base of

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999 ...

trees.

Taxonomy

''Lactarius pyrogalus'' was first described by French mycologist

Pierre Bulliard Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

as ''Agaricus pyrogalus'' in 1792, before being given its current binomial name by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries in 1838.

Description

''Lactarius pyrogalus'' has a cap across which is grey fawn, sometimes with a yellowish tinge, with pink and purple tinges not unknown. It is flattened convex to flat, later becoming funnel shaped. The cap is sometimes faintly concentrically banded, it is thin fleshed and becomes sticky when moist, but is not shiny. The stem is between 4 and 6 cm, and between 7 and 15 mm thick, generally cylindrical but sometimes slightly swollen at the base. The stem is whitish or concolorous with the cap, with whitish flesh. It has slightly

decurrent ''Decurrent'' (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward. In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petio ...

gills, which are yellow to flesh coloured, though later become a cinnamon-ochre colour. The well-spaced, yellow gills differentiate it from other greyish ''

'' species. Lactarius-pyrogalus-gills

Spores

''Lactarius pyrogalus'' produces a light ochre

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

; the spores are broadly elliptic, with warts generally joined by a moderately thick ridges in a well-developed network. The spores are 7–8 by 5.5–7

µm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Uni ...

in size. The spores are

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of 7–13 nm in diameter, a beta sheet (β-sheet) secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the hu ...

, meaning they stain dark blue in

Melzer's reagent Melzer's reagent (also known as Melzer's iodine reagent, Melzer's solution or informally as Melzer's) is a chemical reagent used by mycologists to assist with the identification of fungi, and by phytopathologists for fungi that are plant pathog ...

, and feature an incomplete net.

Distribution

''Lactarius pyrogalus'' is fairly common and is generally found at the base of

trees alone or in scattered groups. It is particularly common in hazel woodland managed for

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repea ...

. It can also be found elsewhere on the ground in mixed woodland. It is found in the autumn months of August, September and October.

Edibility

''Lactarius pyrogalus'' has a very hot, acrid taste and is acidic. It is due to this taste that it received both its English name, fire-milk lactarius, and its scientific name, with "pyrogalus" translating as "fire milk". Despite not being poisonous, it is not regarded as edible and should be avoided. This is unlike its relative, the saffron milk-cap ('' L. deliciosus''), which is regarded as a choice mushroom.Phillips, 80.

References