Slimy Lactarius     Subgenus

This is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.

Flesh without fibers, fracturing with the same sort of break as a piece of chalk
Spore and gill color limited to white, yellow, or ochre
Mycorrhizal: occuring only on the ground, and only when there are trees nearby
No ring or volva on stalk
All fleshy-stemmed mushrooms whose gills exude a latex when cut go here

Fruiting bodies (especially the gills) exuding a liquid (called a latex) when broken
Stalk (and sometimes even gills) usually concolorous with cap

Diagnosis

• Cap sticky or slimy when fresh

Comments

Narrow down your identification:

Cap grey to olive grey
Flesh not changing color when broken
Usually under beech
Spore print pale yellow

Cap up to 4" across; various dull, whitish shades of lilac and brown; darkening with age; turning green with KOH
Latex white, becoming dingy cream, and staining broken surfaces dull lilac
Flesh bruises dull lilac, then dull brown
Spore print pale yellow
Under aspen, birch, and pine

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