LACTARIEjE 



Context of fruit-body lleshy, putrescent, rr.siruh stem con- 



fluent with pileus and gills, central; gill8 brittle, attached, acute on 

 edge, inosih with cystidia in the hymenium; sporea sphoeroid, 

 rough, white, yellowish or ociiraceous. 



This subfamily is sharply se1 off from the others by the vesieul 

 trama of the fruifcbody and the echinulate or otherwise roughened, 

 globose spores. W i t li the exception of t lit* ('ortinarii, uo other 

 groups develop such a variety of bright-colored pilei. Many of 

 them possess a strong acrid taste, and aearly all of them have 

 specially differentiated hyphae scattered through the trama, which 

 in the Lactam secrete a milky or colored juice. The hymenium is 

 com]. osed of cylindric-clavate basidia intermingled with cystidia; 

 the latter often extend into or below the subliymenium. and in the 

 young plant project above the basidia; later they arc often even 

 with the rest of the hymenium. In a few cases the cystidia are 

 scanty or Lacking. The subhymenium is differentiated to a greater 

 or less extent in the different species, consisting of a tissue of small 

 roundish cells between basidia ;md trama. 



The group is apparently derived from Ilyproplionis. probably by 

 several paths. The pills have a somewhat waxy consistency in some 

 species, reminding one of the pills of that genus. There are two 

 w ell-marked genera : 



Lactarius, exuding a milky juice when wounded. 



Russula, without this juice. 



Lactarius Fr. 

 i Prom the Lai in, /"<■, milk, i 



Wii none; the trama composed of vesiculose tissue, and xoit) 

 milky or colored juice which exudes when plant ia broken; gills 

 rigid, fragile, acute on edge; stem central, confluent with the pil< 



spores globose or subglobose, usually echinulat ■ verrucose, white 



or yellowish. 



Fleshy and put re-cent fungi, often of large size, mostly 

 sometimes on much decayed wood. The genus ia very distind 



