A very large, firm, white to cream milk cap of European broadleaf woods with a felty, fleece-like cap surface and fairly distant gills. Its copious white latex tastes mild alone, but the flesh is very hot. Recent North American records are lacking; the similar North American species is Lactifluus subvellereus.
Inedible because of its very hot, acrid flesh; most field guides advise against eating it, though some eastern European and Russian foragers eat it after preparation. Not recommended.
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Habitat
Mycorrhizal in broadleaf and mixed woodland, notably with beech; solitary or in small groups, late summer to early winter.
Distribution
Widespread and common in Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. First Nature knows of no recent North American records. Peck considered the North American Lactifluus subvellereus distinct from this species.
Characteristics
Cap: 10-25 cm, occasionally over 30 cm, convex becoming flat and centrally depressed to funnel-shaped; white at first, later yellowing and browning; covered in fleece-like fibers. Gills: decurrent, moderately distant, narrow, white becoming brownish in irregular patches or specks. Stem: 4-7 cm long, 2-4 cm thick, shorter than the cap width, cylindrical or tapering downward, colored like the cap. Flesh: thick, white, firm and crumbly, very hot and acrid. Latex: abundant, white, mild when tasted alone. Spore print: white. Spores: 7-10 x 5-7.5 µm, broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, warted with a network of ridges (First Nature).
