Chocolate milky or Curry milk cap

Cap 3-7 cm, convex with a bump in the center at first, then flattening out with a distinct umbo. Color deep black, velvety sooty, almost black in young specimens, browner in old ones. The surface is dry, finely velvety, with characteristic fine radial grooves or wrinkles. The cap margin is often wavy.

Cap 2-5 cm, convex at first with a small bump in the center, then flattened with a depressed center, sometimes with a barely visible umbo in mature specimens. Color chestnut-brown, burgundy-brown, dark red, fading with age to rusty brown. Surface dry, finely wrinkled, slightly sticky in wet weather.

Gilled hymenophore. The gills are moderately crowded, attached or slightly decurrent. Color white or creamy white; against the black cap they're visible even from a distance — this is the most striking identification feature. Where damaged, the gills turn pink. They exude white milk. Spore print cream.

Gills. The gills are crowded, narrow, adnate or slightly decurrent. Same color as the cap or a little lighter — reddish brown. When damaged they exude watery white milk. Spore print cream.

Stem 4-8 cm tall, 0.5-1 cm thick, slender, cylindrical, often characteristically elongated toward the base (like a «ballerina's leg»), hollow in mature specimens. Same color as the cap — blackish-brown, often with distinct lengthwise wrinkles or «ribs». The surface is finely velvety; no ring and no volva.

Stem 3-6 cm tall, 0.3-0.7 cm thick, slender, cylindrical, often tapering downward, hollow in mature specimens. Same color as the cap — chestnut or slightly lighter. Surface smooth, with no ring and no volva.

Flesh whitish to cream, thin, tender. When damaged it exudes white milk that gradually turns pink in air and takes on a reddish-brown tint. When cut, the flesh itself also turns pink where it touches the milk.

Flesh thin, delicate, reddish brown, does not change color when cut. The milk is watery, translucent white, sparse, and does not turn yellow as it dries. Dried, the mushroom barely shrivels.

Smell faint, mushroomy, neutral. The raw flesh and milk taste mild, with no heat and no bitterness, faintly sweetish. Mature specimens may have a faint bitterish aftertaste.

A distinct smell of dried chicory, burnt sugar or caramel — it appears mostly as the mushroom dries. Fresh, the smell is faint. This is the most characteristic diagnostic feature of the species. The flesh tastes mild, faintly sweetish, not acrid.