BEPOET OF THE STATE BOTANIST 185 



Lactarius deliciosus Fr. 

 Delicious Laotaeius. 



Plate 89. 



Pileus at first convex and often slightly umbilicate, becoming 

 nearly plane or centrally depressed, sometimes almost funnel- 

 shaped, glabrous, yellowish-orange or grayish-orange vai'ied with 

 brighter mottled zones; lamellae orange colored ; stem glabrous, 

 often marked with a few orange-colored spots, colored like or 

 paler than the pileus; juice orange-colored ; spores globose, yel- 

 lowish, .0003 to .0004 in. broad. 



The Delicious lactarius is well marked by its peculiar colors 

 and is easily distinguished from all our other species of Lactarius 

 by its orange-colored juice. The cap is convex when young, 

 but in the mature plant it sometimes becomes centrally 

 depressed or even shaped like a funnel. It is smooth, and when 

 fresh and moist its surface is slightly viscid. Its color is some 

 shade of orange enlivened by mottled circles or zones of deeper 

 hue. Theae zones often appear as if composed of numerous con- 

 fluent spots. They are less distinct in old plants, in which also 

 the ground color fades and becomes tinged with greenish hues, as 

 shown in figure 4. Such plants have an unattractive ap])earance 

 and should not be used for food. The flesh is whitish, but tinged 

 with orange, especially along the line of attachment of the gills. 

 There is often a sligbtly acrid taste to it when fresh. 



The gills are very similar to the cap in color. The orange- 

 colored milk exudes from these in drops if they are cut or broken. 

 This milk or juice pervades the whole plant and may exude from 

 wounds in any part. Wounds and bruises slowly assume a dull 

 greenish hue. 



The stem is colored like or a little paler than the cap and is 

 often adorned with a few bright orange spots. It is generally 

 quite short when growing on nakod ground, but longer if growing 

 aming mosses. In some cases it is narrowed at the base, in 

 others not. It is generally hollow in mature plants. 



Cap two to five inches broad, stem one to four inches long, one- 

 third to two-thirds of an inch thick. 



Common in woods, groves and damp, mossy places. It is 

 especially fond of pine woods and mossy swamps, though not by 

 any means limited to these. It may sometimes be found in 

 24 



