Weeping Milkcap / Fishy Milkcap

Lactarius volemus

Coniferous and deciduous forests. Summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies massive. Cap up to 15 cm across, fleshy, matt, dry, sometimes cracked, yellowish-brown, orange-brown. Gills cream, turning brown when pressed or cut, exuding abundant white milk, adnate. Stem 3-10 (13)x 1—3 cm, the colour of the cap. Flesh white, firm, not bitter, with an unpleasant smell, most often of herring, of fish. Characteristic features: the milk is milky white, gluey, sticky, very abundant, more abundant than in other milkcaps, turning greyish on drying. Grows singly, likes light, grassy, calcareous, clayey places. Edible; suitable for frying mushroom cutlets, which are no different from beef cutlets. Uncommon. Protected.