Salmon Milkcap

(Lactarius salmonicolor)

Conservation Status
Salmon Milkcap
Photo by Honey Fae (Farah)
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

not listed

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Salmon Milkcap is an edible gilled mushroom. It occurs in Europe and North America. It is uncommon in North America, where it occurs from Nova Scotia to New Jersey, west to southern Ontario and northern Minnesota, and in the southern Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. There are also a handful of records in Washington, Oregon, and California. In Europe, where it is common, it is found from July to November mostly under white fir, sometimes under silver fir, spruce, or beech. It grows on the ground attached to the roots of a host tree. It has a mutually beneficial relationship (mycorrhizal) with the tiny rootlets of trees, absorbing sugars and amino acids while helping the tree absorb water.

When it first appears, the cap is convex and smooth and the margins are rolled inward. It is usually orangish-red, sometimes salmon-colored, and is sometimes concentrically zoned. As it ages the cap expands, becoming flat, and the stalk becomes hollow. Mature caps are 1½ to 4¾ (4 to 12 cm) in diameter, depressed in the center to almost funnel-shaped, and irregular in outline, sometimes lobed. The upper surface is hairless and dry, becoming greasy in humid weather. The margins are spread out, flexible, and sometimes wavy, but they are not lined (striate). Older caps rarely have spots of green. When sliced, the cap bleeds a yellowish-orange latex.

The gills are pale orange or orange, thick, often forked, and broadly attached to the stalk, slightly running down the stalk on mature mushrooms. They turn violet when bruised, and rarely turn greenish on older specimens. Between the main gills there are one or two series of short gills that do not reach the stalk.

The stalk is orange or yellowish-orange, without a trace of green, ¾ to 3 (2 to 8 cm) long and to 1¼ (1 to 3 cm) thick. It is firm and solid at first, becoming hollow as it ages. The surface may be smooth, slightly wrinkled, or have scattered pits.

The flesh is thick and firm. It is whitish or cream-colored to pale orange and has no hint of green. When sliced it sometimes turns brownish-red after about an hour. It is edible and has a mild flavor.

The spore print is pale yellow to orange.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat and Hosts
 
 

Mostly white fir, sometimes silver fir, spruce, or beech

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Season

 
 

July to November

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.

 
  1/9/2023      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Uncommon in Minnesota

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Fungi (fungi)  
  Subkingdom Dikarya  
  Phylum Basidiomycota (club fungi)  
  Subphylum Agaricomycotina (jelly fungi, yeasts, and mushrooms)  
  Class Agaricomycetes (mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, and allies)  
  Subclass Agaricomycetidae  
  Order Russulales  
  Family Russulaceae (milkcaps, brittlegills, and allies)  
  Genus Lactarius (common milkcaps)  
 

Subgenus

Lactarius  
 

Section

Deliciosi  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Lactarius salmoneus

Lactarius subsalmoneus

Lactarius thyinos

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

Milky Agaric (UK)

Salmon Milkcap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Mycorrhizal

A symbiotic, usually beneficial relationship between a fungus and the tiny rootlets of a plant, usually a tree.

 

Striate

Striped or grooved in parallel lines (striae).

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Honey Fae (Farah)

 
    Salmon Milkcap   Salmon Milkcap  
           
 
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Other Videos
 
  Kanlıca,çintar,melki..Lactarius salmonicolor, Karabük.
dursun yüksel
 
   
 
About

Dec 23, 2022

Mantar avı.

 

 

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Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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  Honey Fae (Farah)
8/20/2022

Location: Duluth, MN

 

Salmon Milkcap

 
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Created: 1/9/2023

Last Updated:

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