Fleshy Fungi of New Brunswick >> Lactarius carbonicola

Lactarius carbonicola A.H. Sm.

Gregarious (15) in mossy lakeside soil, Sphagnum spp. not present, associated with Betula allegheniensis and Picea rubens, Spednic Lake Protected Natural Area, New Brunswick (17-06-18/08).

Basidiospores white in spore print, broadly ellipsoidal to obovoid, marked by prominent amyloid ridges that are mostly unconnected but occasionally joint to form a weak reticulum, with a prominent inamyloid plage, with a large and conspicuous apiculus, 5.7-6.7 X 4.5-5.3 μm, Q = 1.18-1.39 (average[27]: 6.2 X 4.9 μm, Q = 1.26)

Macrocystidia abundant at both the margins and sides of the lamellae, narrowly ventricose, filled with an amorphous to sub-crystalline substance, not staining readily in KOH+Congo Red

Pileipellis a dense trichodermium of slightly swollen cells giving rise to hypha-like extensions, not gelatinous

This collection fits the description of L. carbonicola quite well. In the field it resembles L. camphoratus but lacks the very characeristic maple-sugar smell of that species. Mycoportal lists five collections from Nova Scotia but none from New Brunswick. The Nova Scotia collections, all made by K.A. Harrison, were in wet areas. Hesler and Smith (N.A. Species of Lactarius, Univ. Mich. Press, 1979) state that it occurs on mossy soils and especially on dried-up woodland pools.

Photograph: D. Malloch (17-06-18/08).