Saffron milk cap
Lactarius deliciosus
The milk cap with carrot-orange milk of the pine woods, which lives in association with pine roots.
Full sun
Sandy, acid
Role in permaculture
A pine + milk-cap pairing to turn sandy, acid soils to account where pines grow, reforestation and agroforestry of marginal lands, with a potential edible harvest in the understorey.
Growing this mushroom
- Method
- Nursery-inoculated mycorrhized pines (ectomycorrhizal symbiosis)
- Substrate
- The soil via the host tree: pines (Scots pine, maritime pine, Aleppo pine, Monterey pine depending on the work), on rather sandy, draining, poor soils with an acid to neutral reaction. Inoculation is done in the nursery on young plants, before planting.
- Where to place it
- Pine woods or pine plantations on sandy, draining, poor, acid-to-neutral soils, in a temperate to Mediterranean climate. To be established via inoculated plants rather than by direct seeding of the soil.
- Period
- Inoculation and rearing of the plants in the nursery, then planting; fruiting, when it occurs, in autumn in the pine wood.
- Level
- Advanced (a long-term project)
Steps
- Produce in the nursery pine plants whose roots are colonised by the milk cap, mycelial inoculation has proved effective, unlike other routes tested.
- Transplant the inoculated plants, whose better growth is maintained for several years in the field.
- Manage the pine wood on sandy, acid soil, in full sun.
- Note: it's the production of plants that is well established; the regular obtaining of mushrooms to harvest in the open field remains far less mastered than for the truffle, a promising but still experimental candidate on the fruiting side.
Precautions
The true saffron milk cap exudes a carrot-orange milk, sometimes slowly turning greenish: that's the criterion of the Deliciosi group. When foraging, rule out the milk caps with white and acrid milk (such as Lactarius torminosus), reputed irritant to the digestive tract. In case of doubt about the colour of the milk, abstain and have it validated (MycoDB).
Sources: Guerin-Laguette, Plassard & Mousain (2000), Canadian Journal of Microbiology 46:790-799, DOI 10.1139/w00-059 · Díaz, Carrillo & Honrubia (2009), « Production of Pinus halepensis seedlings inoculated with the edible fungus Lactarius deliciosus under nursery conditions », New Forests 38:215-227, DOI 10.1007/s11056-009-9142-y · MycoDB, fiche Lactarius deliciosus
Good companions
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Cook well before eating; for identification (colour of the milk), see the cultivation section.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers full sun exposure.
- • Ideal soil: sandy, acid.
- • Classic companion: Scots pine.