Table 2 Summary of the distinctive features of the most similar species, Lactarius baliophaeus, and L. griseogalus, and those of L. subbaliophaeus, using data from Verbeken & Walleyn (2010).
Features | L. baliopheus | L. griseogalus | L. subbaliophaeus |
|---|---|---|---|
Basidiomata | Pileus 30–70(−90) mm; greyish yellow to brownish (4A3–5 to 4B3–5), dark blond to yellowish brown (5D4–5 to 5E4–5) | Pileus to 36 mm, very dark brown, almost black | Pileus 40–65 mm; greyish brown to beige- brown (5CD3 to 6DE3) |
Lamellae and lamellulae | Broadly adnate, to decurrent, crowded L+l = 4+12 to 3+6/cm | Broadly adnate, not decurrent, distant (total 28) | Broadly adnate, to slightly subdecurrent, distant L+l = 4–5/cm |
Context | Firm, white to cream then orange-red, greyish red, finally black | Very thin and transparent, turning red then red- orange, finally black | Firm, first whitish becoming blackish finally black |
Latex | Water-like, then successively brownish, blood-red, buff, cream | Hyaline turning grey then dark brown | Transparent white, becoming pinkish grey (7A2) then blackish |
Reaction of context to FeSO4 | Unchanging | Weakly greyish green | Bluing |
Taste | Mild, then acrid | Mild, slightly astringent | Bitterand acrid |
Basidiospores | Globose to subglobose | Usually ellipsoid, rarely subglobose | Globose, subglobose rarely ellipsoid |
Q = 1.01–1.07–1.09–1.15 | Q = 1.07–1.21–1.36–1.55 | Q = 1.04–1.11–1.27 | |
Plage distally amyloid | Plage not, or slightly amyloid | Plage not amyloid | |
Cystidia | Pleurocystidia 40–55 × 9–11 µm scarce to abundant, often arising deep in the hymenium, slightly thick-walled | Pleurolamprocystidia 50–65 × 7–10 µm abundantfusiform or irregular, thick-walled | Pleurocystidia 35–56 × 6–9 µm, scarce, inconspicuous subcylindrical, subclavate, thin-walled |
Marginal cells | 21–40 × (2−)3–5 µm, cylindrical, tortuous or fusiform, rounded, mucronate, with tapering apex | 20–35 × 4–7 µm, rarely clavate, mostly fusiform | 23–72 × 3–6 µm, subcylindical, fusiform or tortuous, almostly septate, mostly with tapering apex |
Pileipellis | Hymeniderm, suprapellis 10–25 × 3–5 µm, thin-walled | Palisade, suprapellis thick, 25–40 × 3–5 µm, thin-walled | Palisade, suprapellis thin 20–60 × 3–5 µm, thin-walled |