MicoRadar
Saffron milk cap
Lactarius deliciosus
Also called: Red pine mushroom
In Spanish: Níscalo, Robellón, Rebollón, Mízcalo, Nícalo, Rovellón, Guíscano, Fongo royo · In Catalan: Pinetell, Rovelló, Rovelló d'obaga, Esclata-sang, Pebràs, Pinenc · In Basque: Esnegorri, Ziza gorri, Pinu-perretxiko, Piñutela, Nizkalo · In Galician: Níscaro, Fungo da muña, Lactouro
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: 2009-09-28_Lactarius_deliciosus.jpg: furtwangl from West Seattle derivative work: Ak ccm (talk) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Photo: furtwangl from West Seattle / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Photo: This image was created by user Tom (LanLord) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here. / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: This image was created by user zaca at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here. / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: This image was created by user zaca at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here. / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The commercial mushroom of the Spanish autumn. A funnel-shaped orange cap with concentric rings; cut, it bleeds a carrot-orange milk that does not change colour; what turns green over time is the flesh and any bruised or damaged part. Firm, crisp flesh — grilled, pickled in brine or pan-fried.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Lactarius deliciosus (L.) Gray (1821)
- Family
- Russulaceae
- Edibility
- Edible
- Season
- Sep–Dec
- Usual altitude
- 255–1,495 m
- Under which trees
- Pine
- Dangerous look-alike
- Woolly milk cap · Lactarius torminosus
- IUCN Red List
- Not evaluated (NE)
Where it grows
Pinewoods of every kind, from coastal Aleppo pine to mountain Scots pine, often in open, lightly grassed ground. From September until the first settled frosts.
Confused with
- Woolly milk capLactarius torminosusdangerous
A pink cap with a woolly margin and white, acrid milk; it is toxic, causing gastric upset, and is not for picking.
- Yellowdrop milk capLactarius chrysorrheus
White milk that turns yellow in the air; it grows under oaks. Not edible.
When it has been found
Finds recorded in Spain, by month: 1,870 in all, from GBIF. They show when it fruits, and also when people go looking.
Where it has been found
Each square is an area of about 20 km with recorded finds; the darker, the more finds. It does not pinpoint patches: for where it is coming up now, see the forecast map.
Where it comes up
Areas where this species is scoring highest right now.
- Lluçanès ComarcasExcellent · peak excellent
- Moianès ComarcasGood · peak excellent
- Berguedà ComarcasGood · peak excellent
- Ripollés ComarcasGood · peak excellent
- Osona ComarcasGood · peak excellent
- Bages ComarcasGood · peak excellent
- Solsonés ComarcasModerate · peak excellent
- Pirineo ComarcasModerate · peak excellent
In guides and news
- Huesca Pyrenees: altitude, permits and Ordesa
Area guides
- Ripollés: a guide to the mushroom forests of the Pyrenees
Area guides
- Urbión pinewoods: permit, altitudes and season
Area guides
- Cataluña, 17–18 October: conditions better than a week ago
State of the forest
Sources
The usual altitude and the trees come from our own fit of the model to those finds and to the Spanish Forest Map (Mapa Forestal de España).
Would you know them from a photograph? →
The description is for reference. Identifying a mushroom from a photograph is unreliable: do not eat anything you are not sure of.