Lactarius blennius
Encyclopedia
Lactarius blennius is a medium-sized mushroom
of the genus Lactarius
found commonly in beech
forests in Europe, where it is mycorrhizal, favouring the European Beech
(though associations with other trees are known). It was first described by Elias Magnus Fries
. Though its colour and size vary, it is distinctive because it is slimy when wet and exudes copious amounts of milk
. It has been the subject of some chemical research, and it can be used to produce pigments and blennins. Blennins, some of which have shown potential medical application, are derived from lactarane, a chemical so named because of their association with Lactarius. The edibility of L. blennius is uncertain, with different mycologists suggesting that it is edible
(though not recommended), inedible or even poisonous.
as Agaricus blennius in 1815, before being given its current binomial name by the same author in 1838. Within the genus Lactarius
, it is closely related to Lactarius cinereus, another Lactarius species that also favours beech
. It has been suggested that the two species (forming a group) could have a coevolutionary pathway with beech. The specific epithet is derived from a Latin
adjective blennius, meaning "slimy". Lactarius mushrooms are commonly
known as milkcaps, and L. blennius is known as the Slimy Milkcap or the Beech Milkcap.
Lactarius blennius is synonymous
with Agaricus blennius (the name under which Fries first described the species in 1815) and Agaricus viridis, a name given earlier by Heinrich Schrader
, in 1794. Galorrheus blennius (a name proposed in 1871 by Paul Kummer
), Lactarius viridis (proposed in 1888 by Lucien Quélet
) and Lactifluus blennius (proposed by Otto Kuntze
in 1891) are also now recognised as synonyms. Lactarius albidopallens was originally described as a form
of L. blennius as Lactarius blennius f. albidopallens by Jakob Emanuel Lange
in 1928, before being classified as a separate species by J. Blum. Lange also described Lactarius blennius f. virescens, which is now recognised as nomen invalidum (an invalid name). Lactarius fluens is another species that has been included in L. blennius; originally described in 1899 by Jean Louis Émile Boudier
, in 1999, German Joseph Krieglsteiner suggested that it is actually a variety of L. blennius, naming it Lactarius blennius var. fluens. The situation with Lactarius viridis is similar; first described as a separate species by Quélet in 1888, A. Marchand proposed that it is in fact a variety of L. blennius, naming it Lactarius blennius var. viridis.
that is 4–10 cm (1.6–4 in) across that later becomes depressed in the centre. In colour, it is pale olive to a greenish grey, sometimes a dull green or pale grey-sepia
, and has blotches of darker colouration in concentric
bands, though the colour can vary greatly. Heavily spotted specimens are also known, and a very brown specimen similar to Lactarius circellatus was recorded in Scotland. The cap is very slimy when moist and has a margin that is curved inwards. The stem
is a paler colour than the cap, but also very slimy, and measures from 4–5 cm (1.6–2 in) tall by 1–1.7 cm (0.4–0.7 in) thick, tapering a little towards the bottom. The flesh
is whitish, similar in colour to the gills, which later become a creamy or pale buff
colour. The gills turn a brownish-grey colour when wounded, and are crowded. In shape, they are slightly decurrent or adnate, meaning that they run a small way down the stem in attachment, or that they are attached to the stem by the whole depth of the gills. The milk
is white and dries grey, and is very plentiful. L. blennius spores
leave a creamy print
, and are elliptic with low warts joined by ridges with a small number of cross-connections, measuring from 6–9 by 5.5–7 µm
.
. It forms an ectomycorrhizal association with trees, and can grow on a wide variety of subsoil
types, but is more typical of acidic soil. It is found between late summer and late autumn, and is native to Europe. The distribution of the mushroom coincides with the distribution of beech. In the British Isles
, the species is one of the one hundred most common mushrooms. Other areas in which it has been recorded include Sweden
, France
, Italy
, and Poland
.
when cooked, but not recommended, while others describe it as inedible or even poisonous. The milk tastes very hot and acrid.
L. blennius has been the subject of some research in chemistry
. Lactarane derivatives (known as "blennins") have been acquired from the mushroom, including the lactone
blennin D, and blennin A, which was first isolated from this species. Lactaranes are chemicals so named because of their occurrence in Lactarius species. Blennins have been shown to be potentially useful- blennin A, for instance (a lactarane-type sesquiterpene
) has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory
, having a strong inhibitative affect against leukotriene
C4 biosynthesis
. L. blennius can also be refined to create a green pigment
, known as blennione.
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
of the genus Lactarius
Lactarius
Lactarius is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi. The genus, collectively known commonly as milk-caps, are characterized by the fact that they exude a milky fluid if cut or damaged...
found commonly in beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
forests in Europe, where it is mycorrhizal, favouring the European Beech
European Beech
Fagus sylvatica, the European Beech or Common Beech, is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae.-Natural range:...
(though associations with other trees are known). It was first described by Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries
-External links:*, Authors of fungal names, Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming.*...
. Though its colour and size vary, it is distinctive because it is slimy when wet and exudes copious amounts of milk
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
. It has been the subject of some chemical research, and it can be used to produce pigments and blennins. Blennins, some of which have shown potential medical application, are derived from lactarane, a chemical so named because of their association with Lactarius. The edibility of L. blennius is uncertain, with different mycologists suggesting that it is edible
Edible mushroom
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...
(though not recommended), inedible or even poisonous.
Taxonomy and naming
Lactarius blennius was first described by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus FriesElias Magnus Fries
-External links:*, Authors of fungal names, Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming.*...
as Agaricus blennius in 1815, before being given its current binomial name by the same author in 1838. Within the genus Lactarius
Lactarius
Lactarius is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi. The genus, collectively known commonly as milk-caps, are characterized by the fact that they exude a milky fluid if cut or damaged...
, it is closely related to Lactarius cinereus, another Lactarius species that also favours beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
. It has been suggested that the two species (forming a group) could have a coevolutionary pathway with beech. The specific epithet is derived from a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
adjective blennius, meaning "slimy". Lactarius mushrooms are commonly
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
known as milkcaps, and L. blennius is known as the Slimy Milkcap or the Beech Milkcap.
Lactarius blennius is synonymous
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
with Agaricus blennius (the name under which Fries first described the species in 1815) and Agaricus viridis, a name given earlier by Heinrich Schrader
Heinrich Schrader (botanist)
Heinrich Adolf Schrader was a German botanist and mycologist. He studied medicine early in life. He named the Australian plant genus Hakea in 1797.Schrader was elected a corresponding member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1815....
, in 1794. Galorrheus blennius (a name proposed in 1871 by Paul Kummer
Paul Kummer
Paul Kummer was a priest, teacher, and scientist in Zerbst, Germany, known chiefly for his contribution to mycological nomenclature. Earlier classification of agarics by pioneering fungal taxonomist Elias Magnus Fries designated only a very small number of genera, with most species falling into...
), Lactarius viridis (proposed in 1888 by Lucien Quélet
Lucien Quélet
thumb|Lucien QuéletLucien Quélet was a French mycologist and naturalist who discovered several species and was the founder of the Société mycologique de France, a society devoted to mycological studies....
) and Lactifluus blennius (proposed by Otto Kuntze
Otto Kuntze
Otto Carl Ernst Kuntze was a German botanist.-Biography:Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig.An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled Pocket Fauna of Leipzig. Between 1863 and...
in 1891) are also now recognised as synonyms. Lactarius albidopallens was originally described as a form
Form (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, a form is one of the "secondary" taxonomic ranks, below that of variety, which in turn is below that of species; it is an infraspecific taxon...
of L. blennius as Lactarius blennius f. albidopallens by Jakob Emanuel Lange
Jakob Emanuel Lange
Jakob Emanuel Lange , was a Danish mycologist who studied the systematics of gilled mushrooms.His most well-known work is Flora Agaricina Danica, a five-volume plate work on the Agaricales of Denmark....
in 1928, before being classified as a separate species by J. Blum. Lange also described Lactarius blennius f. virescens, which is now recognised as nomen invalidum (an invalid name). Lactarius fluens is another species that has been included in L. blennius; originally described in 1899 by Jean Louis Émile Boudier
Jean Louis Émile Boudier
Jean Louis Émile Boudier was a pharmacist who lived in Montmorency, France. He published a fair amount about the Discomycetes and other areas of mycology...
, in 1999, German Joseph Krieglsteiner suggested that it is actually a variety of L. blennius, naming it Lactarius blennius var. fluens. The situation with Lactarius viridis is similar; first described as a separate species by Quélet in 1888, A. Marchand proposed that it is in fact a variety of L. blennius, naming it Lactarius blennius var. viridis.
Description
Lactarius blennius has a flattened convex capPileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...
that is 4–10 cm (1.6–4 in) across that later becomes depressed in the centre. In colour, it is pale olive to a greenish grey, sometimes a dull green or pale grey-sepia
Sepia (color)
Sepia is a dark brown-grey color, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia.The word sepia is the Latinized form of the Greek σηπία, sēpía, cuttlefish.-Sepia in human culture:...
, and has blotches of darker colouration in concentric
Concentric
Concentric objects share the same center, axis or origin with one inside the other. Circles, tubes, cylindrical shafts, disks, and spheres may be concentric to one another...
bands, though the colour can vary greatly. Heavily spotted specimens are also known, and a very brown specimen similar to Lactarius circellatus was recorded in Scotland. The cap is very slimy when moist and has a margin that is curved inwards. The stem
Stipe (mycology)
thumb|150px|right|Diagram of a [[basidiomycete]] stipe with an [[annulus |annulus]] and [[volva |volva]]In mycology a stipe refers to the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile hyphal...
is a paler colour than the cap, but also very slimy, and measures from 4–5 cm (1.6–2 in) tall by 1–1.7 cm (0.4–0.7 in) thick, tapering a little towards the bottom. The flesh
Trama (mycology)
In mycology trama is a term for the inner, fleshy portion of a mushroom's basidiocarp, or fruit body. It is distinct from the outer layer of tissue, known as the pileipellis or cuticle, and from the spore-bearing tissue layer known as the hymenium....
is whitish, similar in colour to the gills, which later become a creamy or pale buff
Buff (colour)
Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather.Displayed on the right is the colour buff.EtymologyAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, buff as a descriptor of a colour was first used in the London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "A Red Coat...
colour. The gills turn a brownish-grey colour when wounded, and are crowded. In shape, they are slightly decurrent or adnate, meaning that they run a small way down the stem in attachment, or that they are attached to the stem by the whole depth of the gills. The milk
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
is white and dries grey, and is very plentiful. L. blennius spores
Basidiospore
A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are produced by specialized fungal cells called basidia. In grills under a cap of one common species in the phylum of...
leave a creamy print
Spore print
thumb|300px|right|Making a spore print of the mushroom Volvariella volvacea shown in composite: mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print...
, and are elliptic with low warts joined by ridges with a small number of cross-connections, measuring from 6–9 by 5.5–7 µm
Micrometre
A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...
.
Distribution, habitat and ecology
Lactarius blennius is very common and is found in broad-leaved woodland, favouring beech; it is most associated with Fagus sylvatica, the European Beech, though it has also been observed growing in association with species of oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
. It forms an ectomycorrhizal association with trees, and can grow on a wide variety of subsoil
Subsoil
Subsoil, or substrata, is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. The subsoil may include substances such as clay and/or sand that has only been partially broken down by air, sunlight, water, wind etc., to produce true soil...
types, but is more typical of acidic soil. It is found between late summer and late autumn, and is native to Europe. The distribution of the mushroom coincides with the distribution of beech. In the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, the species is one of the one hundred most common mushrooms. Other areas in which it has been recorded include Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Uses
Mycologist Roger Phillips claims that L. blennius is edibleEdible mushroom
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...
when cooked, but not recommended, while others describe it as inedible or even poisonous. The milk tastes very hot and acrid.
L. blennius has been the subject of some research in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. Lactarane derivatives (known as "blennins") have been acquired from the mushroom, including the lactone
Lactone
In chemistry, a lactone is a cyclic ester which can be seen as the condensation product of an alcohol group -OH and a carboxylic acid group -COOH in the same molecule...
blennin D, and blennin A, which was first isolated from this species. Lactaranes are chemicals so named because of their occurrence in Lactarius species. Blennins have been shown to be potentially useful- blennin A, for instance (a lactarane-type sesquiterpene
Sesquiterpene
Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be acyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations...
) has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation as opposed to opioids, which affect the central nervous system....
, having a strong inhibitative affect against leukotriene
Leukotriene
Leukotrienes are fatty signaling molecules. They were first found in leukocytes . One of their roles is to trigger contractions in the smooth muscles lining the trachea; their overproduction is a major cause of inflammation in asthma and allergic rhinitis...
C4 biosynthesis
Biosynthesis
Biosynthesis is an enzyme-catalyzed process in cells of living organisms by which substrates are converted to more complex products. The biosynthesis process often consists of several enzymatic steps in which the product of one step is used as substrate in the following step...
. L. blennius can also be refined to create a green pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
, known as blennione.