A fairly easy to identify family of mushrooms with lactating gills and flesh.
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Woolly Milkcap
Woolly Milkcap
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | Woolly Milkcap (EN), Cap Llaeth Gwlanog (CY), Mleczaj Wełnianka (PL), Nyírfa-Szőrgomba (HU) |
| Scientific Name | Lactarius torminosus |
| Season Start | Aug |
| Season End | Oct |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | 9 |
| Average Cap width (CM) | 12 |
Please note that each and every mushroom you come across may vary in appearance to these photos.
Cap
Convex becoming depressed in the middle and having ‘woolly’ inturned edges. Pale salmon/orange with darker scaled concentric rings.
Gills
Gills white to pale salmon coloured almost running down stem. Very thin, fairly crowded.
Milk
When damaged the gills produce a white milk that is very hot to taste.
Stem
Pale pink to salmon-coloured. Hollowing in the middle.
Flesh
White to off white.
Habitat
Mixed woodland and heath, particularly birch.
Possible Confusion
The Bearded Milkcap (Lactarius pubescens) is similar but much paler and still poisonous, pictured.
Spore Print
Pale yellow/salmon.
Taste / Smell
Very hot and acrid.
Frequency
Common and widespread all around the UK.
Other Facts
In March 2025 the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) added 1000 fungal species to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN (Global) Conservation Status of Woolly Milkcap (Lactarius torminosus) is: LC – Least Concern, with stable population. For more information, see on the following link.
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