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The brown or woody milkweed, also called the moor-headed milk mushroom, is a member of the Russulaceae family, the genus Lactarius. The mushroom looks very beautiful, dark brown in color with a velvety surface on the cap and stem.
The brown milker got its name because of the characteristic chestnut color of the cap.
Where does the brown milkweed grow?
The distribution area of the brown milkweed is quite wide, although the mushroom itself is rare. This species grows in Europe and in the forests of central Russia, namely in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. You can also find it in the foothills and mountains of the Caucasus and Crimea.
It forms mycorrhiza mainly with spruce (very rarely with pine), therefore it mostly grows in coniferous forests. It can also be found in mixed forests with an admixture of spruce, as well as in mountainous areas. Prefers swampy and acidified soils.
Fruiting is stable, occurring from the end of July to the end of September. The peak of yield is observed at the beginning of September. Fruiting bodies grow singly or in small groups.
What does wood milky look like?
The cap of a young brown milkweed has a cushion shape with folded edges. As it grows, it opens up, but retains a convexity in the center, sometimes slightly pointed. At a more mature age, the mushroom cap becomes funnel-shaped with a small central tubercle, and the edges become wavy-ribbed. The diameter of the cap varies from 3 to 7 cm. The surface is velvety and dry to the touch. The color can range from light brown to dark chestnut.
The hymenophore is lamellar, formed from adherent or descending, often located and wide plates. In a young specimen they are white or with a yellowish tint; in maturity they acquire a darker ocher color. When subjected to mechanical action, the plates turn pinkish. Under a microscope, the spores have an almost spherical shape with an ornamented surface; in the mass they appear as a yellow powder.
The cap of the wood milkweed becomes wrinkled and rather dry with age.
The leg is moderate in size, reaching up to 8 cm in height and 1 cm in girth. It has a cylindrical shape, tapering downward, and is often curved. It has no cavity inside. The color is identical to the cap, often lighter at the base. The surface is longitudinally wrinkled, dry and velvety.
The pulp is dense, but very thin, fragile in the cap, and rather tough and leathery in the stem. Its color is white or creamy. At the break, it initially turns red, later becoming yellow-ocher in color. It produces abundant white milky juice, which gradually turns yellow when exposed to air. The smell and taste are slightly mushroom, without any specific characteristics.
According to the description and photo, the brown milkman is a medium-sized mushroom with a very beautiful chocolate color, which is quite difficult to confuse with other representatives of the mushroom kingdom.
Is it possible to eat brown milkweed
Brown milkweed (Lactarius lignyotus) is considered conditionally edible, but only the cap of the mushroom is suitable for consumption, since its stem is very fibrous and tough. Due to its rarity, it is not popular among mushroom pickers. They also prefer not to collect it, because in terms of taste and nutritional values, the mushroom is classified in the fourth category.
False doubles
The brown milkweed, which you can see in the photo, is similar in appearance to the following mushrooms:
- milky resinous black – also belongs to the class of conditionally edible, but the fruiting bodies are larger and the pulp has a sharper taste;
- brownish laticifer – is edible, grows in deciduous forests, the color is slightly lighter;
- zoneless laticifer – an edible mushroom with a flatter cap and smooth edges, light brown color.
Rules for collection and use
Brown milkweed is not often collected due to its rarity and low nutritional value. You can meet it in early September in coniferous forests. When harvested, the fruiting bodies are pre-soaked for at least 2 hours, after which they are boiled and salted.In this case, only caps are suitable, since the legs are too hard and do not soften even after heat treatment.
Conclusion
Brown milkweed is a rare and very beautiful representative of the mushroom kingdom. But due to its low nutritional value, it is collected quite rarely, with preference given to higher quality species. In addition, apart from pickling, fruiting bodies are no longer suitable for preparing other dishes.
