Lactarius gerardii

Appearance

Cap: 3-10.5 cm; convex with a small point in the middle, becoming flat with an uplifted margin, with the central point often disappearing; dry; usually described as finely velvety (but see comments above); often with a rugged and wrinkled surface; yellow-brown to grayish brown; the margin sometimes becoming scalloped.

Gills: Running down the stem; quite distant; stark white.

Stem: 3-8 cm long; 1-2.5 cm thick; more or less equal; dry; without potholes; textured and colored like the cap; sometimes with a white apex, or sometimes with the gills running into the brown coloration; becoming hollow.

Flesh: White; thin; somewhat brittle.

Milk: White; unchanging on exposure to air; not staining tissues.

Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste mild or slightly acrid.

Chemical Reactions: KOH on cap surface negative; on flesh yellowish.

Spore Print: White.

Distribution

Widely distributed in North America east of the Great Plains, and extending at least as far south as Costa Rica.

Habitat

Mycorrhizal with hardwoods (especially oaks); also sometimes reported under conifers; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall