Oakbug Milkcap

Appearance

"L. quietus" typically has a convex cap of 5 to 8 centimetres across, which later flattens or develops a small depression in the centre. In colour, the cap is a dull reddish brown with a tint of cinnamon, sometimes with darker concentric bands or spots. This zoning is one of the most distinctive features of the species. The cap is dry and matt, and not sticky when moist. It features a thick layer of firm, whitish-buff flesh. The stem measures from 4 to 9 centimetres in height, and is typically 10 to 15 millimetres thick. It is cylindrical in shape, but is sometimes furrowed lengthways, and it lacks a ring. It is concolorous with the cap, or a little darker, and is sometimes hollow. The brownish-white gills are slightly decurrent, and change colour with age to a pale reddish brown with mauve hints. The milk is white or cream in colour. The mushroom has a distinctive, strong oily smell, which has also been likened to bedbugs and wet laundry. The spores are oval, with plentiful warts joined by numerous ridges, forming a well-developed network. The spores typically measure 7.5 to 9 by 6.5 to 7.5 µm, and leave a cream print.

Naming

"L. quietus" was first described and named by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries, who named it "Agaricus quietus" in the first volume of his "Systema Mycologicum", published in 1821. In his later "Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici", published in 1838, Fries transferred the species to "Lactarius". Subsequent attempts to reclassify the species were unsuccessful; in 1871, Paul Kummer described the species as a member of "Galorrheus", and in 1891 Otto Kuntze classified it as "Lactifluus", but today Fries's placement of the species in "Lactarius" is accepted. The specific epithet "quietus" means "quiet" or "calm", and is possibly used to refer to the unintrusive colours of the cap.

The variety "Lactarius quietus" var. "unicolor" was described by Fries in the second volume of his "Monographia Hymenomycetum Sueciae", published in 1863. The variety "Lactarius quietus" var. "incanus" was described by Lexemuel Ray Hesler and Alexander H. Smith in their 1979 "North American species of Lactarius". The name "incanus" translates as :hoary", referring to the whited bloom which can sometimes be seen on the mushrooms.

"Lactarius quietus" is known by the common names oak milkcap, oakbug milkcap and the southern milkcap. "Lactarius quietus" var. "incanus" is commonly known as the burnt sugar lactarius.

Habitat

"L. quietus" is found growing exclusively at the base of oak trees, solitarily or in scattered groups, in soil. It can be found very commonly throughout autumn months. It is ectomycorrhizal, feeding symbiotically exclusively with oak, though studies have suggested it is also able to feed saprotrophically, growing from organic soil matter. "L. quietus" can be found only in Europe; in the United Kingdom, it is one of the one hundred most commonly encountered mushroom species. "L. quietus" var. "incanus" is found commonly in eastern North America.