Quote:
Originally Posted by Vak_Draco  I'm Pretty Certain (93%) I Found Lactarius rubrocinctus In An Area Around Derbyshire, I Wasn't Aware That It Wasn't Common! Although I Haven't Seen One Since. But Not Being A Mycologist, I May Have Been Mistaken... |
Unfortunately, there are quite a number of these beige/pink/brownish species that all look rather similar macroscopically and the characters do tend to intergrade. In addition, many field guides will not point out the important characters that you need to be aware of when trying to separate the species.
One of the best and most up to date books written in English on
Lactarius is volume 2 in the Fungi of Northern Europe series. As an example, here is some of the descriptive text on
Lactarius rubrocinctus:
"A medium-sized to rather large
Lactarius with an orange-brown to ochraceous orange cap, becoming radially wrinkled with age or when dry; stem often with a narrow, darker zone at the top; associated with
Fagus on rich soil...
Lactarius rubrocinctus is recognised by the rather robust habit in combination with the pallescent orange-brownish cap, which becomes radially wrinkled with age and when drying out. Also, the dark 'collar' at the top of the stem is often distinct and may give a good hint for the determination, along with the more or less violaceous reaction of the gills when gently rubbed.
The diagnostic macroscopic characters are however highly dependent on the age of the fruitbodies and on their general condition. Often not all diagnostic characters are present in a collection. Under the microscope, the combination of a hyphoepithelic pileipellis and very big macrocystidia makes the species unique among European Lactarii."
None of the important clues, such as the wrinkled cap or dark collar on the stem are visible in the photo above, and drawing on the leaves for a size comparison this isn't obviously a particularly robust specimen. With a species that has been rarely found, or rarely identified at least, in this country you would need to look at the microscopic characters to be sure.
Here is some of the description for
Lactarius subdulcis:
"A rather small to medium-sized
Lactarius associated with
Fagus; cap dark brick to cinnamon or clay-buff, more or less crenulate at margin...
Lactarius subdulcis is associated with
Fagus and found from June to November. It is common almost wherever its host is present, but especially on mull soils."
The description of the colour variability within this species shows the challenge of trying to sort these species out.
I can't see any beech leaves in the shot, only sycamore and birch for sure. If there was no beech present it is unlikely to have been either of the above species, so knowing the potential hosts for these mycorrhizal species is very important. Other important characters we are missing are any distinctive smell and the colour and taste of the milk, along with any colour change to the milk. You really are making things hard for yourself if you miss these vital clues.
There are several other species which could look superficially similar and we don't have enough information for a positive identification. However, my advice is always to start off with the most likely options ie the most commonly occurring species that may fit the characters of your specimen, and only move on to other less common species once you have definitely ruled out the more obvious ones.
Ken
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