Bloody milk cap or Lactarius salmonicolor

Cap 4-10 cm, convex at first with an inrolled margin, then flattened and finally funnel-shaped with a depressed center. Color pale orange-pink to flesh-orange, often with greenish or bluish stains where damaged. Concentric zones are often visible, as in the common Saffron milk cap. Surface dry, smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather.

Cap 4-12 cm across, when young convex with an inrolled margin, becoming with age flattened and spread out with a funnel in the center. The cap skin is smooth, slimy in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather. Color distinctly salmon-orange, often with darker concentric zones and greenish spots where damaged. The margin is smooth, even, not fluffy — an important difference from the woolly milk cap.

Gills. The gills are crowded, narrow, adnate or slightly decurrent. Color pale orange to flesh-colored; when damaged they exude dark wine-red milk, and with age the gills turn green where touched. Spore print cream to pale ochre.

Gilled hymenophore — the gills are adnate or slightly decurrent, crowded, orange to salmon-pink, turn green 30-60 min after being touched. Spore print yellowish to ochre-orange.

Stem 3-6 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical or slightly tapering downward, often hollow in mature specimens. Color pale orange with a pinkish tint, often with the characteristic small darker “pits” — just like the Saffron milk cap. Turns blue or green where damaged.

Stem 3-6 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical, hollow inside when old. Color the same salmon-orange tone as the cap, with characteristic darker shallow pits on the surface — a typical feature of saffron milk caps ("dents"). No ring.

Flesh yellowish-white; when cut it quickly takes on a wine-red or dark burgundy tint. The milk is thick, dark red, the color of dried blood, with no noticeable bitterness. Exposed to air, the flesh may eventually turn green or blue where touched.

Flesh thin, brittle, salmon-orange. When damaged it releases orange milk, which gradually (after 30-60 min) turns wine-red in the air, while the flesh turns green where cut — a characteristic reaction that sets it apart from L. deliciosus (whose milk clearly turns green). Smell fruity-resinous, pleasant, taste mild, sweetish, not bitter.

Smell faint, pleasant, fruity-resinous — a typical saffron milk cap smell. Taste mild, with a light resinous note, no bitterness or acridity — unlike the “ordinary” milk caps, you can carefully touch it to your tongue raw.

Pleasant, fruity and resinous with a hint of conifer needles — typical of saffron milk caps.