Milky gray-pink (Lactarius helvus)
- Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Incertae sedis (of uncertain position)
- Order: Russulales (Russulovye)
- Family: Russulaceae (Russula)
- Genus: Lactarius (Milky)
- Type: Lactarius helvus (Gray pink milky)
Milky gray-pink (lat. Lactarius helvus) is a mushroom of the genus Milky (lat. Lactarius) of the Russula family (lat. Russulaceae). Conditionally edible.
Grey-pink milky hat:
Large (8-15 cm in diameter), more or less rounded, equally prone to the formation of a central tubercle and depression; with age, these two signs can appear simultaneously – a funnel with a neat mound in the middle. The edges are neatly tucked up when young, gradually rolling out as they mature. Color – difficult to describe, dull grayish brownish pink; the surface is dry, velvety, not prone to hygrophobia, does not contain any concentric rings. The flesh is thick, brittle, whitish, with a very strong spicy smell and a bitter, not particularly burning taste. Milky juice is scarce, watery, in adult specimens it may be completely absent.
Records:
Weakly descending, medium frequency, the same scale as the cap, but somewhat lighter.
Spore powder:
Yellowish.
Milky leg gray-pink:
Quite thick and short, 5-8 cm in height (in mosses, however, it can be much longer), 1-2 cm in thickness, smooth, gray-pinkish, lighter than the cap, whole, strong when young, forms uneven gaps.
Spread:
Milky gray-pink is found in swamps among birches and pines, in mosses, from early August to mid-October; in late August-early September, under favorable circumstances, it can bear fruit in large quantities.
Similar species:
The smell (spicy, not very pleasant, at least not for everyone – I don’t like it) allows you to distinguish the grey-pink lactifer from other similar mushrooms with complete confidence. For those who are just starting to get acquainted with the milkers, relying on the literature, let’s say that another relatively similar mushroom with a strong-smelling pulp, the oak milky Lactarius quietus grows in dry places under oaks, is much smaller and generally not at all similar.
Edibility:
In foreign literature, it goes on the list of slightly poisonous; we refer to it as inedible or as edible, but of little value. People say that if you are ready to put up with the smell, then you get a milky as a milky. When it appears in the absence of valuable commercial mushrooms, it is at least interesting.