Saffron milk cap

Description

The saffron milk cap, known in Polish simply as rydz, has a cap 4–12 cm across, flesh-reddish or orange, with distinct concentric bands; in older specimens funnel-shaped with an inrolled margin. The orange gills and latex turn green when damaged or with time, and the stem is short, pitted-spotted and hollow inside.

It grows from August to November under pines, in coniferous forests and young stands on sandy soils. In Poland it is common.

It is distinguished from similar milkcaps by its habitat under pine, the distinct banding of the cap, and the greening latex and flesh. Those with white latex are the woolly milkcap or the larch milkcap, which should not be collected for eating. All species of saffron milk caps are hard to tell apart by appearance alone, so pay attention to the tree and the colour of the latex.

Identification features

Cap

Diameter 3–20 cm (descriptions give different ranges); young ones convex with an inrolled margin, then concave with a shallow depression, funnel-shaped in old ones. Colour flesh-reddish or in shades of orange (according to some descriptions carrot-orange), sometimes with a touch of green. Surface concentrically zoned, sometimes pitted-spotted, slimy or sticky when wet.

Hymenophore (underside of the cap)

Gills orange-yellowish, of similar colour to the cap, of different lengths, dense, straight attached or slightly running down, thin and brittle. Turn green when damaged.

Stem

Length 2–8 cm (descriptions give different ranges), thickness 1–2.5 cm; colour of the cap or paler, with darker pitted spots. Cylindrical, at first solid, then hollow, narrowed at the base; soaked with latex. No ring or volva.

Flesh

Pale orange, compact, brittle in mature fruiting bodies, with an irregular fracture (spherical cells, sphaerocysts). Turns green when damaged. Latex bright orange, paler in air, according to some descriptions also turns green; mild in taste with a bitter aftertaste. Flesh slightly bitterish and acrid, smell sweetish, fruity. The flesh of mushrooms you are not sure about should not be tasted.

Spore print and spores

Spore print pale ochre or cream (descriptions give different colours). Spores broadly oval, 7.1–9.1 × 6–7.5 µm, with warts joined by a network of connections of varying thickness.

Habitat and distribution

Ecology. Terrestrial mycorrhizal fungus (ectomycorrhiza), mainly with pines (Pinus sp.); in coniferous forests and young stands, on sandy and acidic soils.

Distribution. Northern Hemisphere in the temperate zone; naturally in Europe (including the Mediterranean basin), introduced with pines to, among others, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Common in Poland. Not legally protected.

Fruiting. In Poland from August to November.

What can it be confused with?

• Lactarius deterrimus (false saffron milkcap) — Grows exclusively under spruces; the latex changes to red-violet after about 30 min.
• Lactarius salmonicolor (salmon milkcap) — Grows under firs; never turns green when damaged.
• Lactarius semisanguifluus (Polish: mleczaj zmienny) — Cap more olive-green; latex wine-red as it dries.
• Lactarius sanguifluus (Polish: mleczaj czerwieniejący) — Latex wine-red, gills similarly slightly coloured.
• Lactarius porninsis (larch milkcap) — Grows exclusively under larches; latex white; according to some descriptions slightly poisonous.
• Lactarius torminosus (woolly milkcap) — Hairs on the margin of the cap, burning taste and white latex; regarded as poisonous in most European countries.

Never rely on a single feature. If you are not sure — do not pick it; show the mushroom to a qualified mushroom expert.

Interesting facts

• In 1959 (8 May) the Polish post issued a stamp with the saffron milk cap with a face value of 60 gr in the “Mushrooms of Poland” series.
• A fresco in Roman Herculaneum probably depicts this species and is one of the oldest works of art depicting a mushroom.
• In Australia it is collected in large numbers by settlers from Eastern Europe, especially of Polish origin, in plantations of Pinus radiata.