Lactarius salmonicolor or Saffron milk cap

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.

Cap 4–15 cm across, convex at first, then funnel-shaped. Surface smooth or slightly sticky, bright orange or brick-rusty, with darker concentric zones. Turns greenish when damaged.

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.

Gills crowded, narrow, decurrent, bright orange, turning green when damaged. They release an orange milk that stays unchanged or slowly turns green — this is the key identification feature.

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.

Stem 3–8 cm tall, 1–2.5 cm thick, cylindrical, solid (in young ones), hollow in mature ones. Surface orange, smooth, turning green when damaged. Often has small pits. No ring.

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.

Flesh firm, orange-yellow or orange, slowly turning green on exposure to air when damaged. Releases an orange milk whose taste is mild or slightly acrid depending on where it grows. The mushroom tastes pleasant, slightly resinous.

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

Smell pleasant, fruity-resinous, with light notes of conifer forest. The aroma survives salting and pickling, giving the food a distinctive woodland character.