Lactarius rubidus
| Candy caps | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Lactarius camphoratus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Russulales |
| Family: | Russulaceae |
| Genus: | Lactarius |
| Species | |
| 'Candy cap' | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 |
gills on hymenium |
 
|
cap is convex or flat |
 |
hymenium is decurrent |
 |
stipe is bare |
 
|
spore print is white to yellow |
 |
ecology is mycorrhizal |
 |
edibility: choice |
L. camphoratus
L. fragilis
L. rubidus
Candy cap or curry milkcap is the English-language common name for several closely related edible species of Lactarius; L. camphoratus, L. fragilis, and L. rubidus. These mushrooms are valued for their highly aromatic qualities and are used culinarily as a flavoring rather than as a vegetable.
Candy caps are small to medium-size mushrooms, with a pileus that is typically under 5 cm in diameter (though L. rubidus and L. rufulus can be slightly larger), and with coloration ranging through various burnt orange to burnt orange-red to orange-brown shades. The pileus shape ranges from broadly convex in young specimens to plane to slightly depressed in older ones; lamellae are to . The entire fruiting body is quite fragile and brittle. Like all members of Lactarius, the fruiting body exudes a latex when broken, which in these species is whitish and watery in appearance, and is often compared to whey or nonfat milk. The latex may have little flavor or may be slightly sweet, but should never taste bitter or acrid. These species are particularly distinguishable by their scent, which has been variously compared to maple syrup, camphor, curry, fenugreek, burnt sugar, Malt-O-Meal, or Maggi-Würze. This scent may be quite faint in fresh specimens, but typically becomes quite strong when the fruiting body is dried.
Microscopically, they share features typical of Lactarius, including round to slightly ovular spores with distinct amyloid ornamentation and sphaerocysts that are abundant in the pileus and stipe trama, but infrequent in the lamellar trama.
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Wikipedia