The study deals with the occurrence and ecology of five white milkcap species in Slovakia, Lactarius controversus, Lactifluus bertillonii, Lactifluus glaucescens, Lactifluus piperatus and Lactifluus vellereus. Recent molecular studies have shown that the reliability of field characters traditionally used for identification of white milkcaps is very low. Comparison of our field observations with microscopical analyses confirmed that the colour change of the latex is not a reliable feature to distinguish Lactifluus glaucescens and Lactifluus piperatus. An interesting result is the discovery that Lactifluus bertillonii was not recognised in the past (until 2013) and has been consistently misidentified as Lactifluus vellereus (8 herbarium specimens). Surprisingly, older specimens of Lactifluus glaucescens and Lactifluus piperatus, although well represented in the herbaria, were not frequently confused. Possible reasons are discussed.
Caboň M., Adamčík S. (2014): Ecology and distribution of white milkcaps in Slovakia. – Czech Mycology 66(2): 171–192.
