Lactic mushrooms are a large brotherhood of mushrooms of the Russula family. Their name is a direct translation from the Latin name Lactrarius. They got this name due to the fact that these mushrooms do not have fibers, and when broken, they secrete milky juice. In some representatives of this genus, it is slightly edible, and some secrete a pungent poisonous milk.
The genus includes the well-known and beloved by all milk mushrooms and saffron mushrooms, as well as volnushki, rubella, smoothies, euphorbia and many others. Milky mushrooms are fungi that prefer moist soils in coniferous and deciduous forests. The main period of appearance is the end of July. You can meet some of the species until the beginning of October.
The appearance of milkers is familiar to everyone. A striking example is the ubiquitous mushrooms. The only thing that changes is the color of the hats, which varies from white to gray, brown, red-brown. The lactic mushroom, the photo of which is presented in the article, when it appears from the ground, first has a convex lamellar hat with an edge wrapped inward, later it opens and becomes like a saucer with a depressed center or a funnel, and the edges begin to shaggy. The surface is dry or wet, mucous. Somemushrooms it is velvety. Some lactic mushrooms have a cap with a diameter of up to 5 centimeters, and some giants grow up to 15 centimeters in diameter. The legs are usually the same color with the cap or slightly lighter. Its length varies depending on the habitat of the fungus (grass or moss height) - from a few millimeters to 6-7 centimeters. The legs are hollow or dense. The body of mushrooms is riddled with channels through which milky juice flows. It is usually white in color, which begins to darken in the air and stain the mushroom itself.
Considering that some lactic mushrooms are very fragile and sensitive to damage, from touching over time, so-called “burns” appear on them - dark spots that spread over the entire surface in a very short time. By the way, this fragility was also reflected in the name of the mushroom mushroom. According to the assumptions of scientists, the etymology of the word breast comes from the word breast, which in translation from Lithuanian means “brittle”. True, there is another version of the origin of this name - from the word "grudno" - mushrooms growing in a crowd, "clusters", in large groups.
Lactic mushrooms are found everywhere. Their distribution area is quite extensive. In total, about 120 species are known, 90 of which are found throughout the entire former Soviet Union. In Europe, these mushrooms are considered poisonous and are not eaten, but in Russians, many of them are collected with great pleasure.
They are great for harvesting for the winter. They are s alted and pickled, some of the speciesdried and then used to flavor the first and second courses, as well as in the preparation of various mushroom sauces.
Lactic mushrooms are also used in pharmacology. From some types of mushrooms, lactariovilin is obtained - an antibiotic used in the treatment of tuberculosis, as well as diseases of the kidneys and gallbladder. The bitter juice contains a substance that inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus aureus.
