Lactarius rufus
Epicr. syst. mycol.: 347. 1838.
Common Name: none
For description see Hesler & Smith & 'California Mushrooms'.
Scattered to gregarious in duff under pine or Sitka spruce; common in coastal conifer forests north of San Francisco, fruiting in fall and winter.
Inedible, very acrid.
Lactarius rufus can be distinguished by its brick-red fruitbodies with unchanging white latex, a strongly acrid taste, and growth under pine. Lactarius rufus is similar to Lactarius rufulus, but the latter has a faintly acrid taste, is associated with oaks, has globose spores, and lacks sphaerocysts in the cap and stipe context. Faded specimens of L. rufus are similar to darker individuals of Lactarius xanthogalactus, but that species is easy to distinguish by its typically zonate cap and its latex, which turns quickly yellow upon exposure.
Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 959 p.
Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
Kränzlin, F. (2005). Fungi of Switzerland. Volume 6: Russulaceae. Verlag Mykologia: Luzern, Switzerland. 317 p.
Methven, A.S. (1997). The Agaricales (Gilled Fungi) of California. 10. Russulaceae II. Lactarius. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 79 p.
Methven, A.S. (1998). Lactarius in California and Beyond: Introduction to Subgenera and Species of Lactarius in California. Privately Published: Charleston, IL. 22 p. (PDF)
Hesler, L.R. & Smith, A.H. (1979). North American Species of Lactarius. University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI. 841 p. (PDF)
Peck, C.H. (1885). Report of the State Botanist 1884. Ann. Rep. NY State Mus. 38: 77-138.
Siegel, N. & Schwarz, C. (2016). Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 601 p.
