Landcare Research
>
Databases
>
Fungi & micro-organisms
>
Fungal Guide Home
>
Lactarius
Home
About Fungi
Ngā Harore
Simple Key
Genus (A-Z)
Help
Feedback
Lactarius
Notes
Spore print white or yellow. Cap about 5-10 cm diam., slightly sunken towards the centre, surface often velvety, most species pale orange (salmon) or dark brown. Flesh brittle, snaps easily, exudates a white or yellowish sticky liquid when broken. Stipe similar in colour to cap, cylindric or tapering slightly towards the base, no ring.
Lactarius
species are ectomycorrhizal, always found on the soil close to their host trees. The indigenous species are confined to either
Nothofagus
forests or to stands of tea-tree, where they are often found in large numbers in the autumn.
L. clarkeae
and
L. umerensis
are orange in colour,
L. sepaceus
is dark brown,
L. maruiaensis
is yellowish, while
L. tawai
is variable in colour (orangish, reddish, purplish) but distinctive because of the concentric zoned pattern of the cap.
The exotic species include three species under silver birch (
L. pubescens
with whitish to pale orange cap,
L. glyciosmus
and
L. turpis
with dark caps,
L. glyciosmus
with a distinctive coconut odour), and
L. deliciosus
at a few sites in the southern South Island under pines.
Name
Image
Google
Images
NZFungi Entry
Lactarius clarkeae
Two varieties are recognised,
L. clarkeae
var
clarkeae
under
Leptospermum
(also found in Australia under
Leptospermum
) and
L. clarkeae
var.
aurantioruber
under
Nothofagus
. The
Nothofagus
variety has
Lactarius umerensis
An indigenous species, quite common under
Nothofagus
.