Bartam Trail, Franklin, NC
These caught my attention from some distance, so large and bright they were in the shade of the forest.
Growing around the base of a dead Virginia Pine, Pinus virginiana
Didn’t observe this one in great detail, didn’t check scent/taste/staining. Growing from conifer wood, I think Fir specifically?
Was thinking L. deliciosus group initially but the milk was bright yellow. Growing in mixed conifer forest from the middle of a fallen (and elevated) conifer log, Bear Wallow, approx. 8,500ft. Can Lactarius species be saprobic on dead host trees?
Milk is yellow, odor is mild, flavor is mild but slightly acrid. I read that it is supposed to be peppery but can be milder. Stem had significant bruising when I found it. KOH reacts pretty orange at first then fades to more of an olive brown color.
Taste bitter. No staining from damage. At the summit of Mt. Lemmon, approx. 9,000ft.
In the burn area near the firewatch tower on Mt. Lemmon, approx 9,000ft.
Growing prolifically in the burn area near the firewatch tower at the summit of Mt. Lemmon, approx. 9,00ft. Cap is broadly convex, 6.5cm in diameter, with a strong central depression, and finely shaggy cap with rain damage near the center of the cap exposing ridges from the gills underneath. Gills are purplish, well spaced, decurrent, and relatively thick. Cap reacts brown in KOH. Stipe is a little under 8cm long with a shaggy base, hollow. Basal mycelium appeared white, but I didn’t check younger specimens because I was fleeing hail shortly after this. Maybe L. proxima? But it is described as reacting KOH negative. I thought maybe L. amethysteo-occidentalis as well but the color is very weak in comparison to descriptions/reference photos, and I couldn’t find information about the reaction to KOH.
Growing among Myxomphalia and Laccaria in the burn area near the firewatch tower at the summit of Mt. Lemmon, approx. 9,000ft. Dark conical caps with a striate margin that lighten to a fine brown color at the margin. Some caps have a little bit of white fiber hanging from the edge of the cap, but very very little. Smallest specimens lack a partial veil. Free light brown gills with frequent short gills. Spore print in progress.
Growing in the burn area near the firewatch tower on Mt. Lemmon, approx 9,000ft.
Growing prolifically in the burn area near the fire watch tower on the summit of Mt. Lemmon, approx. 9,000ft. Convex to flat brown to black caps with a wide central depression and striate margin. White, somewhat crowded gills that rarely fork, broadly attached to subdecurrent. Stipe is bare and the same color as the cap. Growing in soil under Ponderosa Pine.