Appearance
*The cap of up to about 10 cm is beige or grey and often also has a lilac hue. It is flat-topped or sometimes becomes centrally depressed when older. The surface is greasy or viscous when damp.⤷ The gills are slightly decurrent and have a creamy colour, tending to become spotted violet by the milk where damaged.
⤷ The milk is initially white and turns violet, but only if left in contact with the gills or flesh. The milk and the flesh taste slightly bitter.
⤷ The pallid stipe grows up to about 8 cm high by 2 cm diameter, becoming hollow with age.
Naming
''Lactarius uvidus'' belongs to section ''Uvidi'' of the genus, the members of which are characterized by milk which discolours violet, and by the greasy cap surface. These mushrooms are divided into two sub-sections: the ''Aspidieni'', which have a whitish, ochre or greyish cap, and the ''Uvidini'' , which have a lilac, violaceous, or brownish cap. A more complete list of these species can be found in the List of Lactarius species.Some less well-known but closely related European species are ''L. pseudouvidus'' Kühner , ''L. robertianus'' Bon , and ''L. luridus'' Gray . Since ''L. uvidus'' seems to be a cluster of species, it is particularly difficult to pin down the correspondence between descriptions and collections originating from Europe and from North America .
Some examples of varieties inside the main species are ''L. uvidus var. pallidus'' Bres. , and ''L. uvidus var. candidulus'' Neuh. .
Distribution
This cluster of species is found in deciduous and coniferous woods, with a preference towards acid soils. It has a wide distribution in Europe, North Africa, and North America, being fairly common in some regions but rare in others. It appears classified as vulnerable or endangered in the Danish and Dutch Red Lists of Fungi.References:
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