Today we are going to talk about one of the species of the genus Lactarius that is quite in demand by mushroom pickers. Its about Lactarius salmonicolor. It is not very easy to recognize mushrooms from the delicious group, even if you have great experience with it. However, in this article we are going to give some keys for the identification of this species which is in support of many characteristics that can be observed.
If you want to know more about him Lactarius salmonicolor, this is your post.
Key features
It is a species of mushroom that grows almost exclusively under the white habit. It does not have a flesh that turns a greenish color. His hat has a diameter that ranges between 8 and 15 centimeters. Its surface is translucent in appearance and the color ranges from yellow to orange. Sometimes we can find some specimens with the almost pink salmon-style hat, hence their name. It does not have any type of green spots. Obvious zoning is rare and does not have any typical Lactarius deliciosus blended droplet decoration.
It has blades that are attached or slightly decurrent by a small tooth. These sheets are quite tight to each other and have the presence of many lamélulas. These lamélulas are also called lamellae. The lamellae are interposed and their color is initially orange. However, as the mushroom grows and develops, it can acquire different shades between pink and salmon. One of the characteristics that differentiates the Lactarius salmonicolor others are that the lamellae have a more shiny appearance than any other species in their group. Finally, when they are fully developed, they are almost ocher in color. It is rare to notice any greenish fading.
As for the foot, it is almost completely regular cylindrical. It has a fairly sturdy structure and can quickly become hollow as it develops. The color is the same as the hat even somewhat more intense. Sometimes you can see some dimples. Its flesh is white in the central part and somewhat more active orange in the periphery. It gives off an orange latex that turns wine-red when cut. It is a meat that has a somewhat bitter taste.
Habitat and edibility of Lactarius salmonicolor
As we have mentioned before, it is an almost exclusive species that can be found under the white fir trees. It needs the granite soils in lines and always grows under the fir trees. Regarding its edibility, It is a fairly tasty specimen but of worse quality than the A lovely milkman.
Because it is only found under fir trees, it has a popular Castilian man that is the spruce níscalo. There are many people who know him by this name. Among all the species that belong to this group that have latex with a color similar to that of carrots, they can be classified with intermediate organoleptic values. Not that it will be one of the best mushrooms in terms of taste, but it is not the worst either.
To eat them, cooking in water is not advisable, valid for many other mushrooms, although in this case it does not give good results. Normally, when a mushroom has a bad taste while raw, it is usually cooked to solve these flavor problems. In addition, when we take it in water we are avoiding that the polluting particles, either by the soil or the organisms, can do the damage in the consumption.
The harvest time of the Lactarius salmonicolor It is between the months of September to December. This season is determined by the amount of rainfall that has occurred at this time. We must also take into account the temperature. If the winters are very cold, the time in which this mushroom is distributed is less. It does not support very low temperatures.
Main uses of Lactarius salmonicolor
There are people who love the taste of mushrooms and cannot wait for the harvest season. There are some mushrooms that can be grown voluntarily but they are very rare. In the case of Lactarius salmonicolor it is not a fungus that can be cultivated. You have to wait for its harvest time. This should not cause any disappointment since we can find great specimens in the times that we have mentioned above.
The main use is to be an edible in the kitchen and to prepare good dishes with them. It can be perfectly prepared with other mushrooms of the Lactarius genus, both sautéed and with other typical regional recipes.
It can always live and develop under the white fir as it has a symbiotic relationship with it. And is that this fir provide the necessary humidity and environmental protection so that this fungus can develop in good conditions.
Main confusions
It is a mushroom that can be confused with some others, especially those of the Lactarius genus. It is quite similar to all species of this genus that have a reddish latex. It looks like Lactarius semisanguifluus whose latex is orange and turns beet color. The main difference is that This fungus has its latex that eventually turns a greenish color.
The most unmistakable part of the Lactarius salmonicolor it is the characteristic that it does not turn green anywhere. This is due to its unique habitat under the white habit. It differs mainly from A lovely milkman since the latter has a growth or under the pines and the hat is red to orange. You can see that it has obvious concentric zones and this makes them differentiate between them.
Another species for which we can confuse is the Lactarius deterrimus. It differs mainly in that this specimen has a strong greening of the carporphorus and has a low growth fir. When we see several specimens of mushrooms under the fir tree, we simply have to realize these small differences to separate the species that we are going to collect.
As you can see, if we look at some of the main characteristics of this mushroom it can be differentiated quite easily even if we are not experts. I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Lactarius salmonicolor.