Curry milk cap or Oak milkcap
Curry milk cap and Oak milkcap are similar species: Curry milk cap is edible, while Oak milkcap is conditionally edible. The main visible difference: smell: Curry milk cap — pleasant, Oak milkcap — unpleasant, chemical. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: partner trees, cap shape, size.
Not sure? Identify by photoSide by side
| Characteristic | Curry milk cap | Oak milkcap |
|---|---|---|
| Edibility class | Curry milk cap: Inedible | Oak milkcap: Conditionally edible |
| Use | Curry milk cap: Drying, Not eaten | Oak milkcap: Salting |
| Size | Curry milk cap: Small (up to 5 cm) | Oak milkcap: Medium (5–15 cm) |
| Cap colour | Curry milk cap: Red, Brown, Dark brown | Oak milkcap: Brown, Rusty, Chestnut |
| Cap shape | Curry milk cap: Umbonate | Oak milkcap: Convex, Depressed, Flat |
| Cap surface | Curry milk cap: Smooth | Oak milkcap: Dry, Smooth |
| Taste | Curry milk cap: Sweet | Oak milkcap: — |
| Smell | Curry milk cap: Pleasant | Oak milkcap: Unpleasant, Chemical |
| Stem | Curry milk cap: Central | Oak milkcap: Central, Hollow |
| Substrate | Curry milk cap: Soil, Moss | Oak milkcap: Soil, Leaf litter |
| Partner trees | Curry milk cap: Spruce, Pine, Fir, Birch | Oak milkcap: Oak |
| Growth habit | Curry milk cap: In groups | Oak milkcap: In groups, Solitary |
Same in both: season, flesh colour change, hymenophore, nutrition type.
When and where they meet
Together: June–November
What they look like
Cap, Hymenophore, Stem, Flesh, Smell
Cap
Curry milk cap
Cap 2-5 cm, convex at first with a small bump in the centre, then flattened with a depressed centre, sometimes with a barely visible umbo in mature mushrooms. Chestnut-brown, burgundy-brown or dark red, fading with age to rusty brown. The surface is dry and finely wrinkled, slightly sticky in wet weather.
Oak milkcap
The cap is 3 to 10 cm across, usually 4 to 8 cm, convex with an inrolled margin at first, then flattened with a shallow central dip and finally shallowly funnel-shaped; a central bump is rare.
It's a dull reddish brown, cinnamon or yellow-brown, darker in the centre, with faint darker concentric zones or rings of spots. The surface is matt and dry, though it can look a little shiny in wet weather.
Hymenophore
Curry milk cap
Gills crowded, narrow, adnate or slightly decurrent. The same colour as the cap or a little lighter, reddish brown. When damaged they release watery white milk. Spore print cream.
Oak milkcap
The gills run slightly down the stem and are crowded and narrow, cream or pinkish buff at first, later reddish brown, often with rusty spots. Broken gills release plentiful white to creamy-white milk that doesn't turn bright yellow.
The spore print is cream with a slight salmon-pink tinge.
Stem
Curry milk cap
Stem 3-6 cm tall, 0.3-0.7 cm thick, slender, cylindrical, often tapering downward, hollow in mature mushrooms. The same colour as the cap, chestnut or slightly lighter. Smooth, with no ring and no volva.
Oak milkcap
The stem is 3 to 7 cm tall and 0.5 to 1.5 cm thick, the colour of the cap and darker reddish brown towards the base, cylindrical, often furrowed lengthways, solid at first and later hollow. There's no ring.
Flesh
Curry milk cap
Flesh thin, delicate, reddish brown, unchanging when cut. The milk is watery, translucent white and sparse, and doesn't turn yellow as it dries. The mushroom barely shrivels when dried.
Oak milkcap
The flesh is firm, brittle and whitish, reddish brown in the stem base, and browns with age.
Smell
Curry milk cap
A distinct smell of dried chicory, burnt sugar or caramel, which comes out mostly as the mushroom dries; fresh, it's faint. This is the species' most characteristic diagnostic feature. The flesh tastes mild and faintly sweetish, not acrid.
Oak milkcap
An oily smell, often said to be like bugs, strongest in old or drying caps. The taste is mild to slightly bitter, not hot.
Related comparisons
Sources · 19
- [1]Index Fungorum
- [2]GBIF
- [3]Wikipedia (English)
- [4]Википедия (русская)
- [5]First Nature: Lactarius quietus, Oakbug Milkcap
- [6]First Nature: Lactarius chrysorrheus, Yellowdrop Milkcap
- [7]First Nature: Lactarius subdulcis, Mild Milkcap
- [8]First Nature: Lactarius serifluus, Watery Milkcap
- [9]Mushroom Diary (J C Harris): Oakbug Milkcap, Lactarius quietus
- [10]Forager's Calendar (John Wright): Oak milkcap
- [11]NatureSpot: Oakbug Milkcap
- [12]Wikipedia (de): Eichen-Milchling
- [13]Шульга В. М. Світ грибів України: Lactarius quietus
- [14]Wikigrib: Млечник дубовый
- [15]GBIF: знахідки Lactarius quietus в Україні
- [16]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [17]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [18]MycoBank Database
- [19]iNaturalist Ukraine