Lactarius

For the genus of fish, see Lactarius (fish).

Lactarius
"Lactarius torminosus"
Lactarius torminosus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Russulales
Family: Russulaceae
Genus: Lactarius
Pers. (1797)
Type species
Lactarius torminosus
(Schaeff.) Gray (1821)
Diversity[1]
c. 583 species
Synonyms[2]
  • Lactaria Pers. (1797)
  • Agaricus sect. Lactifluus Pers. (1801)
  • Agaricus subdiv. Galorrheus Fr. (1818)
  • Lactariella J.Schröt. (1898)
  • Lactariopsis Henn. (1901)
  • Gloeocybe Earle (1909)
  • Hypophyllum Earle (1909)

Lactarius is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several edible species. The species of the genus, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they exude when cut or damaged. Like the closely related genus Russula, their flesh has a distinctive brittle consistency. It is a large genus with over 500 known species,[1] mainly distributed in the Northern hemisphere. Recently, the genus Lactifluus has been separated from Lactarius based on molecular phylogenetic evidence.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Lee2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference mycobank-lactarius was invoked but never defined (see the help page).