''Lactarius turpis'' (also ''L. plumbeus'' or ''L. necator'') is a Eurasian species of fungus, commonly known as the ugly milk-cap in English. Its messy, dirty appearance is characteristic of the species and gives it its English name and the Latin species epithet, ''turpis''. It seems to collect debris on top and the gills acquire a dirty brownish stain due to discoloured milk.

Taxonomy

This very variable mushroom demonstrates a common phenomenon in

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...

as there is much disagreement over naming. The three main scientific designations: *''Lactarius turpis'' Fr., *''Lactarius necator'' ( Bull.: Fr.)

Karsten Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian, or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include: Given name ;Carsten: * Carsten Becker (born 1990), Germa ...

, and *''Lactarius plumbeus'' ( Bull.: Fr.) S. F. Gray, are usually,Marcel Bon: "The Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and North-Western Europe" Hodder & Stoughton . but not always, considered to be synonyms for same species. The epithets ''necator'' and ''plumbeus'' were both coined by Pierre Bulliard as ''Agaricus necator'' (1791) and ''Agaricus plumbeus'' (1793), but there is and was confusion as to which mushrooms were meant. The name ''turpis'', derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

term ''turpis'' "ugly", was originated by

Johann Anton Weinmann Johann Anton Weinmann (; 23 December 1782, Würzburg - 5 August 1858, Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg, Pavlovsk) was a German botanist who served as Inspector of the Gardens in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He published a ''Flora'' that is the basis of som ...

and taken over by

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. He is sometimes called the Mycology, "Linnaeus of Mycology". In his works he described and assigned botanical names to hundreds of fungus and li ...

in 1838. ''Plumbeus'' too referred to the milk-cap's appearance, derived from the Latin for ''plumbeus'' "lead-coloured".

Description

The

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

is normally in diameter. At first it has an involute margin and a somewhat depressed centre. The upper surface is olive brown or yellow-green and is often sticky or slimy in the middle. When young it has velvety zones and may be shaggy at the rim. Later it becomes funnel-shaped and the colour darkens to blackish. The gills are crowded, dirty white, stained olive-brown by old milk, which is initially white on contact with the air. They are somewhat decurrent. With

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which utili ...

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

there is a purple reaction. The stipe is up to about tall by in diameter and it is similar in colour to the cap, but much lighter. It may have shallow pits (scrobiculae). The flesh is a dirty white and tends to turn brown. The taste (especially the abundant milk) is acrid. There is little smell. The spores are about 7x6 μ and are ornamented with a pattern of ridges., also available in English. The

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 warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...

is cream in colour.

Similar species

A similar species in

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

conifer forests, as well as Sitka spruce forests, is '' L. olivaceoumbrinus''. Usually found growing individually, it has a stronger olive-brown colour on its cap and stipe, with dark spots on the latter. Also similar is '' L. atroviridis''.

Distribution and habitat

''Lactarius turpis'' is found naturally in Europe and

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, and has been introduced to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It can also be found in North America, in the northeast (July–September) and near the West Coast (September–November). While especially associated with

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, it is also found with

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

, pine and other trees in mixed woodland.

Edibility

This species contains the

mutagen In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that permanently changes genetic material, usually DNA, in an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations can cause cancer in ...

ic chemical compound

necatorin Necatorin is a highly mutagenic chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is found in some mushrooms including '' Lactarius necator'' (ugly milk-cap), from which it was first isolated and characterized. It tests positive in the Ames test ...

,
so it cannot be recommended for eating. Boiling reduces the concentration of this compound, but does not effectively eliminate it. Probably due to the acrid taste, most western European authorities classify this mushroom as inedible or poor. However, it has popularly been used (after boiling) as a

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

in mushroom dishes in northern and eastern Europe and Siberia (see Mushroom picking in Slavic culture). It is commercially available preserved in salt.Se
site of YeniseyEcoproduct, Krasnoyarsk
/ref> Considered a choice mushroom in Russia, one of the best for pickling (salt only, no vinegar).

References