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In forests, among fallen leaves and pine needles, you can often see small grayish bells - this is mycena milka. The cute mushroom is edible, but should not be collected for soup. The fruit body is not “fleshy”, the cap is thin. It can often be confused with other species of the genus, which are generally poisonous.
What do Milcenae look like?
Scientists classify this mushroom as a member of the Agarikov (Lamellar) group. These are the species in which the lower part has plates, approximately the same as those of the well-known russula. You can distinguish mycena milka by several criteria:
- Size, shape and color of the cap.
- Number and arrangement of plates.
- Properties of pulp.
- Features of the leg.
- Milky juice on the cut.
The mushroom is small in size, on a thin stalk. The diameter of the cap is from 1.5 to 2 cm.It is cone-shaped or bell-like in shape. The older the fruiting body, the more the cap flattens; its edges may bend upward, but a tubercle still remains in the center. The surface color is brownish or gray, more saturated in the center, becoming very light towards the edges. The top does not shine, but the matte surface is slightly translucent, making the radially diverging plates below visible. Therefore, it seems that the stripes radiate from the center.
Among milk mycenae there is polymorphism in color. In some varieties the color is completely dark, almost black, in others it is brown. Some are almost white. The private cover (film covering the plates) is missing.
On the underside of the cap there are 13-18 plates (up to 23). They stretch from the edge and are attached to the stem, slightly downward, or with a tooth. Among them there is a certain number (sometimes up to half of the total number) of shortened plates that do not reach the center. Their color in young specimens is white, becoming grayish or grayish-brown over time.
The resulting spores are elliptical, sometimes cylindrical, amyloid. The dimensions are microscopic: up to 14 microns in length and up to 6 microns in width. They can only be examined under a microscope; to study their morphology, they can be stained with iodine. Since they contain glycogen, their color will turn blue or purple (with a high concentration of iodine - black).
The leg is very thin, hollow inside. It breaks quite easily, but at the same time elastic. Its height reaches 9 cm with a diameter of 1-3 mm. Smooth along its entire length, sometimes thickening at the bottom. The color is the same as the cap, darker at the base. Characteristic signs of mycena milka are coarse white fibers on the stalk and milky juice secreted from the scrap.
The pulp is very thin, white, odorless or with a slight earthy or rare aroma. The taste is neutral, soft.
Where do milk mycena grow?
You can meet milk mycena in any forest. For their growth, they need a litter of leaves or pine needles. They appear at the beginning of summer and disappear in September-October, i.e. at the end of the mushroom season. The timing differs for different climate zones.
Is it possible to eat milk mycenae?
Theoretically, mycena milka is edible. But it is not collected because the size of the fruiting body is too small, there is very little pulp, and the taste is not bright. In addition, it can be confused with other species of the genus, some of which are poisonous. Therefore, it is better not to take risks.
False doubles
Other mycenae are very similar to this species. In total, scientists have identified about 500 representatives of the genus Mycena in nature. They are all small, similar to each other. Among them there are poisonous ones, for example, Mycena pure, containing the alkaloid muscarine, and blue-legged, which contains the hallucinogen psilocybin.
Mycena pure on the picture:
Mycena blue-footed:
A false double is also Mycena alkaline:
But you can distinguish it not only by appearance, but also by smell. Milky mycena is odorless (or with a slight earthy aroma), and alkaline mycena really smells like alkali or gas.
In some sources, Hemimycena milka is confused with the described species. In fact, it is a completely different mushroom. It is also sometimes thought that mycena milka is a synonym for the parasitic fungus of the Candida species. But this is also wrong.
Conclusion
Mycena lacticata is a widespread forest mushroom from a genus with more than 500 representatives. They are all similar, so it is difficult to distinguish from each other. Beginners in “silent hunting” can only guess by appearance what kind of mushroom it is. Therefore, despite their edibility, it is better not to collect them, so as not to collect poisonous specimens.
