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Mushroom Monday: Chocolate Milky (Lactarius lignyotus)
Today’s Mushroom Monday mushroom is the Chocolate Milky (Lactarius lignyotus). The common name describes the color. Learn more about it below.
The Cap
The cap can grow to be four inches in width. It’s convex, with a distinct bump. As the mushroom ages, the cap becomes flatter and the edges develop more distinct waves.
The cap is covered with soft hairs and has a dry feel. It is brown in color (like chocolate milk), and ranges in size from around three quarters of an inch to around four inches across. The mushroom starts out almost black in color and becomes browner as it matures.
The Stem
Chocolate milky mushrooms can grow to be from around one and a half to five inches tall. They get to be a little more than half an inch thick and have a brown color with white toward the base. They can sometimes have striations.
The Gills
The gills of chocolate milky mushrooms can be connected to the stem or can go down along it. They start out white in color but as the mushroom matures, they become darker. The gills have notable spaces between them.
Other Information
The flesh of the chocolate milky mushrooms is white, but can change color when cut and can also release a white milk that dries to a pink color.
It can be found around conifers in the eastern part of North America and has a mycorrhizal relationship with them. It can be found growing on the ground and also from wood that has rotted and can be seen toward the end of summer and the start of fall.
If you liked learning about chocolate milky (Lactarius lignyotus) mushrooms, check out our other Mushroom Monday posts on our TrueTreeTalk blog. Follow us on Facebook to keep up with these and other posts.
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