THIS DATA HAS NOT BEEN VERIFIED BY AN EXPERT. Use at your own risk.
Tacked milk capLactarius trivialis
Also known as: Slimy lead Lactarius, Tacked milkcap
Passport
- Hymenophore
- Gilled
- Cap colour
- Violet
- Size
- Medium (5–15 cm)
✓ Conditionally edible
Most often confused with: Fenugreek milk cap (poisonous).
Quick answers
Where to look?
When does it appear? Europe
How to recognise it? Three signs
- Cap colour: Violet, Grey, Brown, Pale yellow
- Cap shape: Convex, Flat, Depressed, Funnel-shaped
- Smell: Odourless
Description
The tacked milk cap (Lactarius trivialis), also written tacked milkcap, is edible only after boiling or soaking. It isn't known to be poisonous, but its white milk is fiercely acrid, so it's never eaten raw or simply fried. In Finland it's one of the most important commercially picked mushrooms and in Russia it's traditionally salted, while Central European guides call it inedible because of that burning taste.
You need several features together to recognise it. The cap is large, 5–15 cm across, and slimy and shiny after rain. Young caps are lead grey with a lilac or violet tinge, fading with age to yellowish, flesh pink or brownish. The gills are crowded, whitish, then cream. The stem is tall, slimy, paler than the cap and hollow in older specimens. Break it and plenty of white milk appears; it slowly turns yellow in the air and dries to grey-green spots on the gills.
It grows in groups, often large ones, with birch, spruce and pine in damp conifer and mixed woodland: in moss, at the edges of bogs, among bilberries and along forest tracks. It's most common in Scandinavia and Finland, with a second European stronghold in the Alps and the Carpathians. It appears in midsummer, peaks in late summer and early autumn, and carries on into mid-autumn.
How do you cook it? First the acrid taste has to go, and there are two ways. In Finland the mushrooms are boiled for 5 minutes in plenty of water, timed from when it comes to the boil; the foam is skimmed, the water thrown away and the mushrooms rinsed in cold water. In Ukraine and Russia pickers more often soak them in cold water for two or three days, changing the water morning and evening. After that they are salted, pickled or frozen. During processing the caps and cut surfaces may turn yellow or develop greenish marks: that's dried milk, and it's harmless.
What could you confuse it with? The one that matters is the fenugreek milk cap, which is mildly poisonous and causes stomach upset. Its cap is dry, finely granular and beige-brown with no lilac tone, its milk is watery and doesn't change colour, and as it dries it smells strongly of hay or burnt sugar. The beech milk cap is slimy too, but grey-olive with darker spots in rings, and it grows under beech. The coconut milk cap has a similar colour but is small, dry and smells of coconut. The ugly milk cap is just as big and slimy but dark olive to almost black. The rufous milk cap is brick red, matt and has a small bump in the centre. Lactarius flexuosus has a dry cap, more widely spaced gills and milk that doesn't turn yellow.
Cap
The cap is 5–15 cm across, occasionally bigger, and fleshy. Young caps are convex with an inrolled margin, then flatten and sink in the centre, and old ones become shallow funnels with a wavy edge.
The colour is lead grey with a lilac or violet tinge, sometimes with darker spots when young. With age it fades to yellowish, flesh pink or brownish. Concentric zones are faint or absent. In wet weather the surface is very slimy; in dry weather it's smooth and shiny.
Hymenophore
The gills are crowded and thin, attached to the stem or running slightly down it. They're whitish at first, then cream and ochre, and old ones can show rusty spots.
Milk drying on the gills leaves grey-green or bluish-green marks, one of the best clues to this species. The spore print is cream to yellowish.
Stem
The stem is 4–8 cm tall, up to 12 cm in big specimens, and 2–3 cm thick. It's cylindrical or slightly thicker towards the base, slimy, and the same colour as the cap or paler, with a yellowish tint.
It becomes hollow with age. There is no ring and no volva.
Flesh
The flesh is white to creamy, brittle and almost cheese-like. Broken flesh oozes plenty of white milk that slowly turns yellow in the air and then dries to grey-green granules. The milk tastes mild at first, then very acrid and bitter.
Smell
The smell is faint, and in many specimens barely noticeable; some people pick up slightly fruity or herby notes. That sets it apart from the fenugreek milk cap, which smells strongly of hay and burnt sugar as it dries.
›Scientific synonyms (4)
Agaricus trivialis Fr., Lactifluus trivialis (Fr.) Kuntze, Galorrheus trivialis (Fr.) P. Kumm., Lactarius deflexus Lindblad
Don’t mix them up
Tacked milk cap lookalikes and comparison
Compare with another mushroom| Feature | Tacked milk cap | Fenugreek milk cap |
|---|---|---|
| Hymenophore | Gilled | Gilled |
| Cap colour | Violet, Grey, Brown, Pale yellow | Brown, Cream, Orange |
| Smell | Odourless | Pleasant |
| Edibility | Conditionally edible | Poisonous |
Other lookalikes
Beech milk capConditionally ediblecomparison →
Coconut milk capConditionally ediblecomparison →
Ugly milk capInediblecomparison →
Rufous milk capConditionally ediblecomparison →
Readers’ finds · 0
Readers’ photos aren’t checked by an expert. “Confirmed” means foragers in the feed agree — not a guarantee. When in doubt, leave it.
Related species
Mushrooms of the same genus and habitat — to study side by side and never mix up.
Lactarius resimus
False saffron milk cap
Lactarius deterrimus
Lactarius salmonicolor
Saffron milk cap
Lactarius deliciosus
Woolly milk cap
Lactarius torminosus
Bearded milk cap
Lactarius pubescens
Bloody milk cap
Lactarius sanguifluus
Curry milk cap
Lactarius camphoratus
Frequently asked questions
Is the tacked milkcap edible?
Only after boiling or soaking. The tacked milkcap (Lactarius trivialis) has fiercely acrid white milk, so it's never eaten raw or simply fried. In Finland it's one of the most important commercial wild mushrooms and is parboiled and then salted, while Central European guides call it inedible because of its burning taste.
Is Lactarius trivialis poisonous?
We found no source that calls it poisonous and no reported poisoning by this species. Where guides list it as inedible, they mean it's too acrid to eat, not that it's toxic. The real risk is confusing it with the fenugreek milkcap, which is mildly poisonous and causes stomach upset, so check the features carefully before you pick.
How do you prepare tacked milkcaps?
First the acrid taste has to go. In Finland they are boiled for 5 minutes in plenty of water, timed from when it comes to the boil; the foam is skimmed, the water thrown away and the mushrooms rinsed in cold water. In Ukraine and Russia pickers more often soak them in cold water for two or three days, changing the water morning and evening. After that they are salted, pickled or frozen.
Why do tacked milkcaps turn green when salted or pickled?
It's dried milk, and it's harmless. The white milk slowly turns yellow in the air and dries to grey-green spots, so during processing the caps and cut surfaces may turn yellow or develop greenish marks. The Finnish home economics association Marttaliitto says plainly that these green bits are harmless.
How do you tell the tacked milkcap from the fenugreek milkcap?
This is the one that matters, because the fenugreek milkcap is mildly poisonous. Its cap is dry, finely granular and beige-brown with no lilac tone, its milk is watery and doesn't change colour, and as it dries it smells strongly of hay or burnt sugar. The tacked milkcap is slimy, lead grey with a lilac tinge, has plenty of white milk that turns yellow, and has hardly any smell.
How do you identify the tacked milkcap?
Look for several features together. The cap is large, 5 to 15 cm across, slimy and shiny after rain, lead grey with a lilac or violet tinge when young, fading to yellowish or brownish with age. The gills are crowded, whitish, then cream. The stem is tall, slimy, paler than the cap and hollow in older specimens. Break it and plenty of white milk appears, slowly turning yellow and drying to grey-green spots on the gills.
Where does the tacked milkcap grow?
It grows in groups, often large ones, with birch, spruce and pine in damp conifer and mixed woodland: in moss, at the edges of bogs, among bilberries and along forest tracks. It's most common in Scandinavia and Finland, with a second European stronghold in the Alps and the Carpathians. It is also found across Eurasia and North America.
When is the tacked milkcap in season?
It appears in midsummer, peaks in late summer and early autumn, and carries on into mid-autumn. The best time to look is late summer, in damp, mossy woods with birch, spruce or pine, where it often grows in large groups. Remember that it still needs boiling or soaking before it goes into the jar.
Sources
- [1]GBIF
- [2]Wikipedia (English)
- [3]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [4]Википедия (русская)
- [5]Wikigrib: Млечник обыкновенный
- [6]Wikipedia (de): Nordischer Milchling
- [7]Svampguiden: Tacked milkcap (Lactarius trivialis)
- [8]Marttaliitto: Northern milkcaps