How to identify Ginger Milk Cap

To correctly identify Ginger Milk Cap (Lactarius deterrimus), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   The cap is orange, often with concentric zones of darker and lighter shades. It is convex when young, becoming flattened or slightly depressed with age.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   The gills are crowded, decurrent, and orange, staining greenish where damaged by the orange latex.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   The stem is orange, cylindrical, and smooth.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   The flesh is orange, staining greenish where damaged.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   The fruiting body is a mushroom with a cap and stem.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   It grows in coniferous forests, especially under pine trees.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth, slightly sticky when moist

Growth Form

Mycorrhizal

Spore Print

Cream to pale orange

Body color

Orange

Odor

Mild, mushroomy

Flesh bruises

Greenish

Height

4-7 cm

Cap Diameter

5-12 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Decurrent
• Stem shape: Cylindrical
• Stem surface: Smooth
• Ring: Absent
• Stem cross-section: Solid

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