Chocolate Milky

Description

The chocolate milky has a dark brown to blackish-brown cap 3–11 cm across, dry and velvety, often grooved. When young it is convex with an inrolled margin, then becomes funnel-shaped with a small umbo. The white gills run down the dark brown stem and turn brown on it, and grooves are visible in the upper part of the stem. When damaged it exudes white latex, which turns pink after a few minutes.

It grows on the ground in coniferous forests, mainly in the mountains, under spruce, often among mosses. In Poland it is rare.

It is most easily confused with Lactarius picinus; the chocolate milky has gills running down the stem, which turn brown on it. It is not a mushroom for eating, so if you are not sure of the species, do not pick it.

Identification features

Cap

Diameter 3–11 cm; when young convex with an inrolled margin and a depressed centre, later funnel-shaped with a small umbo. Cap surface smooth, dry, velvety, often grooved or radially wrinkled (especially in older specimens). Colour dark brown to blackish-brown.

Hymenophore (underside of the cap)

Gills fairly crowded, with a long tooth, decurrent onto the stem, white; on the stem they clearly turn brown.

Stem

Height 4–10 cm, thickness 0.5–1.2 cm, cylindrical, thick, sepia-brown to dark brown. In the upper part there are grooves in the colour of the stem, forming a transition to the white gills; the base of the stem may be whitish.

Flesh

White, exuding latex. The latex is white, somewhat watery, abundant in young fruiting bodies and scant in older ones; on exposure to air it changes colour from pale pink to salmon within a few minutes. Taste mild with a slightly bitter aftertaste, smell pleasant. Do not taste the flesh.

Spore print and spores

Spore print pale ochre (yellowish to ochre). Spores almost spherical, about 9 × 10 µm, with warts joined by a regular network.

Habitat and distribution

Ecology. Terrestrial mycorrhizal fungus. Grows in coniferous forests, mainly in the mountains, under spruce, often among mosses.

Distribution. North America (including the eastern regions), Central and South America, Europe and Asia. Rare in Poland, listed among threatened species worth protecting; it is not legally protected in Poland. It is not on the list of fungi approved for sale in Poland.

Fruiting. No data; usually late summer and autumn.

What can it be confused with?

• Lactarius picinus (pitch-black milky) — Occurs in the same habitats. The chocolate milky has gills running down the stem, which clearly turn brown on the stem; in older specimens the cap is radially wrinkled.
• Lactarius fuliginosus (sooty milky) — The cap has a rounded top, and the flesh quickly turns pink when pressed.

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

• The English name "chocolate milky" refers to the chocolate-brown colour of the cap and stem.
• The epithet lignyotus derives from a Greek word for smoke or smokiness, referring to the smoky, dark colour of the fruiting body.
• On exposure to air the latex changes colour within a few minutes from white to pale pink to salmon.
• In Poland it is rare and listed among threatened species worth protecting.