Delicious Lactarius

(Lactarius deliciosus), a hymeno-mycetous mushroom of the group of gill fungi. The cap and stem are yellowish or reddish orange in pine forests and reddish or bluish green in spruce forests. The milky juice is orange. The cap measures 3–17 cm across and has clearly noticeable concentric zones. At first it is flat or even convex, with edges turned inward, and then it straightens and, in old mushrooms, becomes funnel-shaped. The short stem is initially solid and later hollow. The delicious lactarius grows only in coniferous forests. A valuable edible mushroom, it is used mainly in pickled form.