The Bearded Milkcap (Lactarius pubescens) is a pale, pinkish-cream milkcap of birch, named for the soft, woolly fringe on its inrolled cap margin. The cap becomes dished in the centre with age and may show faint zones. The crowded pale pink to pinkish-cream gills release plenty of white milk when damaged, and the milk is very hot, so this is one to look at rather than taste.
It grows wherever birch is found, often on lawns, in parks and along verges, and it can appear under young planted birches within a few years. Look for it from August into November.
The Woolly Milkcap (Lactarius torminosus) also grows with birch and has a hairy margin, but it is a stronger pink with clear concentric bands and longer, shaggier hairs. Both are poisonous, causing stomach upsets, and should not be eaten.
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Distribution
Common and widespread
Habitat
Often in grassy areas, parks, lawns, wherever Betula is found
Etymology
Lactarius is Latin for 'producing milk', after the latex. pubescens is Latin for 'downy', after the hairy cap margin.
Associates
Betula
Cap
Pale cream to pinkish and finely felty, with a woolly, inrolled margin; zones faint or absent.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex, Depressed |
| Surface | Tomentose, Pubescent |
| Width | 4 - 10 cm |
| Margin | Inrolled |
Gills
The gills are crowded, adnate to decurrent, and pink to pale pinkish-brown. White milk is abundant when they are cut, and is very acrid.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Adnate, Decurrent |
| Spacing | crowded |
Flesh
The flesh is firm, brittle and pinkish-buff, and hollow in the stem. The smell is faint and fruity, and the taste is quickly very acrid.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Faint acidic fruity |
| Taste | Quickly very acrid |
Stem
Short and stout, smooth and pale cream; becoming hollow.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 4 - 7 cm |
| Width | 10 - 20 mm |
| Texture | Smooth, Tomentose |
| Shape | Cylindric, Tapering |
Spores
The spores are amyloid, with warts and ridges up to 0.5μm high, some complete meshes forming an incomplete reticulum.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Type | amyloid |
| Shape | Ellipsoid |
| Ornamentation | Warty |
| Size | 8-8.5 x 4-6 μm |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Order: Russulales
- ↳ Family: Russulaceae
- ↳ Genus: Lactarius
Synonyms
- Agaricus pubescens Schrad.
- Lactarius pubescens (Fr. ex Krombh.) Fr.
- Lactarius torminosus subsp. pubescens (Fr.) Konrad & Maubl.
- Lactarius torminosus var. gracillimus J. Lange
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.
