Lactarius sp.

Appearance

The fruit bodies have convex caps with a central depression, reaching a diameter of 4–7.5 cm . The cap surface is smooth and sticky, and the margins are curved downward, even as the mushroom matures. Its color is pinkish-buff to orangish, sometimes with patches of grayish or pale greenish-gray, especially where the surface has been bruised. The somewhat crowded gills have an adnate to slightly decurrent attachment to the stipe. They are pale vinaceous with a pale pinkish-buff edge. The cylindrical stipe measures 2.0–3.5 cm long by 1–2 cm thick. Its smooth surface is colored pale pinkish-buff to pale greyish-buff, sometimes with brownish irregular dots. The flesh ranges from firm to fragile: in the stipe, it is soft and pale pinkish buff; under the cap cuticle it is brick colored, or brownish-red just above the gills. Its taste ranges from mild to slightly bitter, and it lacks any significant odor.

The spores are roughly spherical to ellipsoidal, measuring 7.9–9.5 by 8.0–8.8 µm. They feature surface ornamentations up to 0.8 µm high and an almost complete reticulum comprising broad, rounded ridges. The basidia are somewhat cylindrical, four-spored, and measure 50–70 by 9–11 µm. The cap cuticle is an ixocutis up to 60 µm thick, with hyphae that are 2–6 wide that are usually branched and interwoven.

Naming

''Lactarius vinosus'', formerly considered a variety of ''L. sanguifluus'', is quite similar in appearance. In general, ''L. vinosus'' can be distinguished by the more vinaceous-red color of its cap, stipe, and gills, the more distinctly downwards-tapered stipe, and the more intense staining of the latex on the cap tissue. The two species can also be distinguished microscopically by differences in the ornamentation of their spore surfaces. ''L. vinosus'' has an incomplete reticulum on the spore surface, with ridges that have a wider degree of variation in thickness. Another potential lookalike, ''L. semisanguifluus'', has a characteristic orange latex that turns wine-red in 5–10 minutes after exposure to air. Compared to ''L. sanguifluus'', the fruit bodies of ''L. semisanguifluus'' are smaller, have tinges of violet in the cap, and develop a greenish discolouration with age.

Distribution

An ectomycorrhizal species, ''Lactarius sanguifluus'' fruit bodies grow on the ground in association with pine trees on calcareous soils. ''L. sanguifluus'' is widely distributed in Himachal Pradesh in India, where it has been noted to grow in mixed coniferous forests, usually under the fern ''Onychium contiguum''. It is widespread in Southern Europe, where it fruits between September and November . In the Netherlands, it was found in calcareous dunes, growing in a warm, sunny and sheltered place at the edge of a woods dominated in pine species. From Europe, it has also been recorded in Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland. In Africa, the species has been collected in Morocco; in Asia, it occurs in Vietnam and China. It is listed in the Red Data Book of the Ukraine, and appeared in a draft red list for Spain as an endangered edible species considered vulnerable due to uncontrolled commercial picking. To illustrate, a September 1998 newspaper report was cited, which reported that 82.5 kg of ''L. sanguifluus'' mushrooms picked in Poligny were seized from a van.

Habitat

An ectomycorrhizal species, ''Lactarius sanguifluus'' fruit bodies grow on the ground in association with pine trees on calcareous soils. ''L. sanguifluus'' is widely distributed in Himachal Pradesh in India, where it has been noted to grow in mixed coniferous forests, usually under the fern ''Onychium contiguum''. It is widespread in Southern Europe, where it fruits between September and November . In the Netherlands, it was found in calcareous dunes, growing in a warm, sunny and sheltered place at the edge of a woods dominated in pine species. From Europe, it has also been recorded in Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland. In Africa, the species has been collected in Morocco; in Asia, it occurs in Vietnam and China. It is listed in the Red Data Book of the Ukraine, and appeared in a draft red list for Spain as an endangered edible species considered vulnerable due to uncontrolled commercial picking. To illustrate, a September 1998 newspaper report was cited, which reported that 82.5 kg of ''L. sanguifluus'' mushrooms picked in Poligny were seized from a van.