Fleecy milk cap or Milk-white brittlegill

Cap 8-25 cm — the largest white milk cap, very fleshy. Hemispherical at first with a thickly downy inrolled margin, then flattened and finally funnel-shaped. Color white, creamy white, in old specimens with an ochre or dirty-yellow tint, especially in the center. The surface is characteristically felted, downy, soft to the touch, like suede or felt. The downiness is especially noticeable at the margin.

Cap 5-20 cm across (often very large), convex-flat with a distinctly inrolled margin when young, with age becoming deeply funnel-shaped. The skin is matte white with an ochre-brown center; in adult specimens with noticeable bits of soil and moss stuck to it (because of the funnel shape). Base color white to cream, ochre-brown to brownish in the center. The skin is peels only at the margin, not easily. The margin is even, with a fine felty down when young.

Gilled hymenophore. Gills distant (which sets it apart from L. piperatus with its crowded gills), broad, adnate or slightly decurrent. Color creamy white, turning yellowish or ochre with age, graying where damaged. They release white milk. Spore print white to pale cream.

Gilled hymenophore — the gills are decurrent, moderately spaced, fleshy, brittle. Color: whitish to creamy white, in the upper part, near the stem, often with a characteristic greenish-bluish tint — a diagnostic feature. Spore print white to creamy white.

Stem 3-6 cm tall, 1.5-4 cm thick — massive, short, cylindrical or thickened toward the base, very firm. Color white to cream. The surface is downy, like the cap, especially in the upper part. No ring and no volva.

Stem 2-5 cm tall, 2-4 cm thick — very short and thick, even when the cap is large. Cylindrical to conical, thickening toward the base. Color: whitish, in the upper part, with a characteristic greenish-bluish tint, with fine crosswise wrinkled grooves. No ring.

Flesh white, very dense, fleshy, even “woody” — a characteristic feature of the species; the mushroom is sturdy and rarely wormy. When damaged it releases plenty of white milk, which slowly turns yellow in the air after 1-2 hours. The cut flesh itself may also turn slightly yellow.

Flesh very firm, fleshy, white, brittle. Exudes no milk when damaged (it's not a milk cap!). When cut, it slowly takes on a yellowish tint. Smell faintly mushroomy, with a fruity note in young specimens, taste mild at first, then distinctly burning and acrid (especially in the gills). Boiling removes the acridity.

Smell faint, mushroomy, slightly earthy in old specimens. Taste of the raw flesh and milk — very burning, peppery, sharp, with a characteristic “dirty” aftertaste. Don't taste it raw.

Faintly mushroomy with a fruity note in young specimens, nothing striking.