Which mushroom is this? The underside and milky fluid are the deciding clues
You found brown, slightly funnel-shaped mushrooms with gills in Hartungviken, Sweden, in early September. At first they look fairly recognisable, but a detail missing from the photograph determines whether they are milkcaps, brittlegills or something else entirely.
From the photograph, this is a gilled mushroom. Its overall appearance points most strongly towards a milkcap or possibly a brittlegill: brown to rust-brown caps, slightly depressed centres and irregular, lobed margins. These groups often cannot be reliably distinguished from above, however, so this photograph is not enough for a safe species identification.
What would help identify it
- A sharp photograph of the underside, showing how closely spaced the gills are and whether they run down the stem
- A photograph of the entire stem, ideally including where it meets the ground
- A cut through the cap and stem
- Whether white or coloured milky fluid appears when the gills or stem are broken
- The immediate surroundings, particularly whether it is growing near birch, spruce or pine
If it releases milky fluid, a milkcap becomes much more likely. If the flesh breaks like chalk but produces no milky fluid, a brittlegill is more likely. Finding it in Sweden in early September fits the season for both groups, but does not identify the species.
Sources and images 1
- Original reader contribution ↗Reader question
