Lactarius blennius (commonly known as the slimy milkcap or beech milkcap) is a medium-sized mushroom of the genus Lactarius found commonly in beech forests in Europe, where it is mycorrhizal, favouring the European beech (though associations with other trees are known). It was first described by Elias Magnus Fries. Though its colour and size vary, it is distinctive because it is slimy when wet and exudes copious amounts of milk.
Source: Wikipedia
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Distribution
Common everywhere with Fagus
Habitat
With Fagus on rich mull soils
Associates
Fagus
Conservation
Cap
Often with zones of darker droplet-like spots
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex, Flattened, Depressed |
| Surface | Viscid |
| Width | 5 - 10 cm |
| Margin | Inrolled |
Gills
White to cream milk drying to pale olive-grey, fairly copious, quickly very acrid
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Adnate, Subdecurrent |
| Spacing | crowded |
Flesh
Firm, brittle, hollow in the stem
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Slightly acidic |
| Taste | Very acrid |
Stem
Concolorous with the cap
| Height | 4 - 7 cm |
|---|---|
| Width | 15 - 30 mm |
| Texture | Smooth, Rugulose |
| Shape | Cylindric, Tapering |
Spores
With warts and ridges up to 1μm high, ridges loosely connected to form partial meshes, often in zebroid stripes
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Type | amyloid |
| Shape | Broadly ellipsoid |
| Ornamentation | Warty |
| Size | 5.5-8 x 5-6.8 μm |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Order: Russulales
- ↳ Family: Russulaceae
- ↳ Genus: Lactarius
Synonyms
- Agaricus blennius Fr.
- Lactarius blennius (Fr. ex Fr.) Fr.
- Lactarius blennius f. virescens J.E. Lange
- Lactarius blennius f. virescens J.E. Lange nom. inval.
Reference Sources
G. Kibby (2025) British Milkcaps Lactarius & Lactifluus. Geoffrey Kibby.
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
R. Phillips (2006) Mushrooms. Macmillan.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 1. Geoffrey Kibby.
