North American species of Lactarius / L. R. Hesler, Alexander H. Smith.

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North American Species of Lactarius

with rosettes; cuticle purplish red in KOH, the hyphae vertical in arrangement to ~ interwoven and with some tips projecting as caulocystidia, a very distinct slime layer evident in mounts revived in
Melzer's reagent.
Habit, habitat, and distribution.-Europe, under conifers and birch,
fall. The description is from Smith 63128 collected in the Quantock
Hills, Newcombe, Somerset, England, September 15, 1960.
Observations.-We are describing this European species on material collected in England in order to be certain that only one species is
involved. The Friesian description of 1821 calls for a zonate, oliveumber, distinctly viscid ("viscoso") pileus. Smith 63128 fulfills all these
requirements. In addition the basidiocarps dry blackish, a feature of
many of the European collections we have seen. Also, the spores are
smaller than in L. olivaceoumbrinus and have lower ornamentation.
But L. olivaceoumbrinus is, in aspect, the American counterpart of L.
necator. We feel that more than likely L. sordidus also occurs in Europe,
but we have not as yet documented this to our satisfaction on the basis
of material studied when fresh. It is important, in species in closely related groups such as this in which there has been a question as to edibility, not to obscure in a generalized description variants constant genetically. Smith 63128 is not sufficiently large as a collection to serve as a
neotype, so we have not so designated it here, but we do insist that it is
typical of the Friesian concept. In the concept presented here, as far as
we are aware, the species has not yet been found in North America.
Material cited.-AUSTRIA: Moser (TENN 24285); ENGLAND:
Reid (TENN 24048); Smith 63128,63239; FRANCE: Shaffer 4635,
4851, 5006 (all MICH); GERMANY: Shaffer 5270 (MICH); SWEDEN:
Petersen (TENN 35721).
Lactarius porninsis Rolland
Bull. Soc. Mycol. France 5: 168. 1889
Illus. Rolland, l.c., pl. 14. Neuhoff, Die Milchlinge, pl. 5; fig. 19.
Pileus 2.5-7(9) cm broad, convex, depressed, orange-yellow,
orange-red, or ochraceous-orange, frequently with narrow, darker
zones, viscid, glabrous, margin incurved, wavy. Context pallid, whitish,
or pale buff, medium thick, rather firm; odor fruity (Hongo, 1965).
Latex white, or watery white, sparse, unchanging, not staining, becoming bitter, then slightly acrid.
Lamellae subdecurrent, ocher-orange to ochraceous-buff, close,
narrow, sometimes forked, lamellulae rare.