Lactarius? In hedgrow

[ohgreatstew]

Found in a hedgrow mostly hawthorn and hazel, I think this is of the Lactarius genre but can't put my finger on which one, perhaps L.Volemus.....

Very firm, cap, think, mostly flesh, gills tighly packed and shallow, decurrent, smell pleasant, stem short, darker towards base, slender, single root.....

[fairplay]

I think first we need to establish if it is Lactarius, and know for certain if the broken sample on the right is the same as the 2 photos on the left.

It just comes as a bit of a surprise to see the underside shot which should have produced some 'milk' in the process.

Neil.

[ohgreatstew]

The cut section shown on the right is the smallest one of the group of 3 on the far laft, I photographed them before picking 1, but now you mention it I am not 100% that the bigger group in the centre picture is for sure the same as the other group of 3.
there was certainly no sign of milk on the cut section, I just checked it again now and it is clean.....
I have not come accross any form of milkcaps before so I am not familure with what should occur....

[fairplay]

I don't really know where to begin on these, I think it is safe to rule out Lactarius, which, when you bend the cap back to break the gills, or if you just run a key across the gills, should produce some latex droplets where they are broken.
Next you then taste the milk with the tip of your tongue, wait about 5 - 10 secs then spit it out. By now you should know if the milk is hot or not.

Sometimes the milk will change colour on exposure to the air or if soaked up on a white handkerchief.

Your specimens may turn out to be Lepista or Clitocybe, but I'm at the guessing stage now.

Neil.

[gleditsa]

the cap colours look right for something along the lines of Lepista / Clitocybe - inversa/flaccida,
but the colouring of the cut one seems all wrong, unless this is down to the photo being taken indoors with the inevitable colour change of indoor photography?

j.

[ohgreatstew]

Thanks Neil, Did the key test, no milk, in fact it doesn't seem to bruise at all, gills or flesh, the flesh is really very firm , almost meaty, smells fungusy, taste is not hot, in fact mild..... I will go back tomorrow and get an older sample.

[ohgreatstew]

Originally Posted by gleditsa

the cap colours look right for something along the lines of Lepista / Clitocybe - inversa/flaccida,
but the colouring of the cut one seems all wrong, unless this is down to the photo being taken indoors with the inevitable colour change of indoor photography?

j.

Thanks J, flesh colour is alomst white, perhaps cream/white, but the reproduction on the picture is right, I am using a Nikon D50 without flash and photoshop all my images before publishing for normalisation and colour casts.....

[gleditsa]

Originally Posted by ohgreatstew

Thanks J, flesh colour is alomst white, perhaps cream/white, but the reproduction on the picture is right, I am using a Nikon D50 without flash and photoshop all my images before publishing for normalisation and colour casts.....

the gill on the ones i have found have usually ranged from creamy to the same as the cap colour, but never with that reddish tinge this one displays, but thats only from my own experiance, perhaps someone more knowledgeable can shed some more light on this ?

j.

[ohgreatstew]

Originally Posted by gleditsa

the gill on the ones i have found have usually ranged from creamy to the same as the cap colour, but never with that reddish tinge this one displays, but thats only from my own experiance, perhaps someone more knowledgeable can shed some more light on this ?

j.

I see what you mean J, now I look a little more carefully the hue and saturation is not quite right. The gills are cream/orange, in colour around halfway between the flesh and the cap colour, I have adjusted the colour correction slightly better here, this is probably more accurate.

[gleditsa]

Originally Posted by ohgreatstew

I see what you mean J, now I look a little more carefully the hue and saturation is not quite right. The gills are cream/orange, in colour around halfway between the flesh and the cap colour, I have adjusted the colour correction slightly better here, this is probably more accurate.

that looks more like the ones i have found , although still a darker tint than most i have found, but probably quite normal for a very variable coloured species ?

j.