Beech milk cap or Tacked milk cap

Cap 4–10 cm, convex with an inrolled margin at first, then flattened with a sunken centre. Grayish-olive or olive-brown, with darker concentric zones or spots. In wet weather the surface is very sticky and slimy, its most characteristic feature; in dry weather it's shiny and smooth. The margin is even, slightly inrolled in young mushrooms.

The cap is 5–15 cm across, occasionally bigger, and fleshy. Young caps are convex with an inrolled margin, then flatten and sink in the centre, and old ones become shallow funnels with a wavy edge.

The colour is lead grey with a lilac or violet tinge, sometimes with darker spots when young. With age it fades to yellowish, flesh pink or brownish. Concentric zones are faint or absent. In wet weather the surface is very slimy; in dry weather it's smooth and shiny.

Gills crowded, narrow, adnate or slightly decurrent. Whitish to cream-grey; when damaged they release white milk, and the damaged spots turn grey or green. Spore print cream.

The gills are crowded and thin, attached to the stem or running slightly down it. They're whitish at first, then cream and ochre, and old ones can show rusty spots.

Milk drying on the gills leaves grey-green or bluish-green marks, one of the best clues to this species. The spore print is cream to yellowish.

Stem 3–6 cm tall, 1–1.5 cm thick, cylindrical or slightly tapering toward the base, hollow in mature mushrooms. Paler than the cap, grey-olive or cream-grey. The surface is also slightly sticky in wet weather; no ring and no volva.

The stem is 4–8 cm tall, up to 12 cm in big specimens, and 2–3 cm thick. It's cylindrical or slightly thicker towards the base, slimy, and the same colour as the cap or paler, with a yellowish tint.

It becomes hollow with age. There is no ring and no volva.

Flesh whitish to greyish-green, firm, not watery. When damaged it releases plenty of white milk that slowly turns grey or green in air and leaves dark grey stains on the gills. The cut flesh also slowly turns grey.

The flesh is white to creamy, brittle and almost cheese-like. Broken flesh oozes plenty of white milk that slowly turns yellow in the air and then dries to grey-green granules. The milk tastes mild at first, then very acrid and bitter.

The smell is faint, neutral and slightly resinous; old mushrooms may smell mouldy. Raw flesh and milk taste extremely acrid, hot and peppery. Do not taste it raw.

The smell is faint, and in many specimens barely noticeable; some people pick up slightly fruity or herby notes. That sets it apart from the fenugreek milk cap, which smells strongly of hay and burnt sugar as it dries.