Tag Archives: Milk Cap

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Candy Cap mushrooms obviously do not mind cold weather. They have been popping up in great numbers. This delicious edible is in the  Milk Cap family - Lactarius fragilis. Rick and I find it growing under Bishop Pines and Tan-oak Trees. It's deep orange color is distinctive and it bleeds white liquid when you touch their gills. The most distinctive trait is, however, their unbelievable maple syrup fragrance.

These mushrooms are so sweet you can use them to bake cookies or in pancakes. In Gualala a local gelato company, Gelati Pazzo Marco Creamery, makes Candy Cap Gelato. Here's the link to their web site: http://gelatipazzomarco.com/

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Lobster mushrooms, Hypomyces lactifluorum, are some of the strangest looking mushrooms I've seen. Well, they aren't exactly mushrooms but are a fungus that has taken over a host mushroom, usually a Milk Cap or a Russula. The technical term for what Lobster mushrooms are is parasitic ascomycete. This fungus envelopes the host mushroom, twisting it into strange shapes and turning it orange, hence the Lobster name.

Many people believe these are among the most delicious of the edible mushrooms. Linda Bostwick found this one growing in Point Arena. The host mushroom is some type of Russula.

Thanks to Linda for allowing me to share her photo with you here!