Violinist (Lactarius vellereus)
Systematics:- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Incertae sedis (undefined)
- Order: Russulales
- Family: Russulaceae (Russula)
- Genus: Lactarius (Miller)
- Species: Lactarius vellereus (Violin)
Other names:
Felt breast
- Skripun
- Creak
- Spurge
- Milk scraper
- Dry sugar
The violin ( lat.Lactarius vellereus ) is a mushroom of the genus Mlechnik (lat.Lactarius) of the russula family (lat.Russulaceae).
Skrypitza forms mycorrhiza with deciduous and coniferous trees, often with birch. In coniferous and deciduous forests, usually in groups.
Season - Summer-Autumn.
The head of a violin ∅ 8-26 cm, fleshy , dense , first convex , then funnel-shaped , with the edges, in young mushrooms bent, and then open and wavy. The skin is white, all covered with white hair, as well as the leg - 5-8 cm in height, ∅ 2-5 cm, strong, thick and dense, white. The white cap takes on a yellowish, then a reddish-brown hue with ocher spots. The plates are cast greenish or yellowish, sometimes with ocher spots.
The plates are whitish, 0.4-0.7 cm wide, rather rare, not wide, interspersed with short plates, more or less descending along the stem. Spores are white, cylindrical.
The violin's leg is 5-8 cm in height, — 2-5 cm, strong, thick and dense, white. The surface is felt, like the top of the cap.
The pulp is white, very dense, firm, but fragile, with a faint pleasant smell and a very pungent taste. At the break, it emits white milky juice, which practically does not change color when dried. The taste of milky juice is soft or slightly bitter, not pungent.
Variability: The white cap of the violin takes on a yellowish, then a reddish-brown hue with ocher spots. The plates are cast greenish or yellowish, sometimes with ocher spots.
The violin has a twin brother - Bertillon's milkman Lactarius bertillonii, visually indistinguishable. The difference is only in the taste of the milky juice: in the violin it is soft, sometimes only slightly tart, while in the milkman Bertillon it is very hot. Of course, it is necessary to carefully separate the milky juice from the pulp for "tasting": the pulp of both types is very spicy. Potassium hydroxide solution (KOH) can also be used for identification: under its influence, the milky juice of L. bertillonii turns yellow and then orange, while the violin does not have such a reaction.
It differs from pepper mushroom (Lactarius piperatus) in more rare plates.
Edible when salted after soaking.