Summary:
Lactarius torminosus (Fr.) Gray var. torminosus in the sense of Hesler & A.H. Smith is recognized by a bearded, pinkish-tinged to whitish cap, white unchanging peppery milk, close to crowded, narrow gills, a stem colored as the cap or paler, growth under birch, and spores in the range 7-10 x 6-7.5 microns, with amyloid ornamentation of ridges and warts. Var. nordmanensis is distinguished by milk that turns bright yellow by itself, turns bright yellow in KOH, stains white paper yellow, or stains the gills yellow or ochraceous, whereas var. torminosus has white unchanging milk that does not turn white paper yellow or stain gills. Lactarius torminosus is sometimes parasitized by the brownish mold-like Hypomyces torminosum. The description is derived from Hesler(4) except where noted.

Gills:
short-decurrent, close to crowded, narrow, some forking near stem; "whitish becoming pale vinaceous or cream color tinged vinaceous", when old usually becoming pale tan

Stem:
3-7cm x 0.6-1.5(2)cm, fragile, stuffed becoming hollow; colored as cap or paler; dry, bald or pruinose, sometimes spotted

Veil:
[none]

Odor:
slight

Taste:
promptly burning-peppery

Microscopic spores:
spores (from sections) 7.5-9(10) x 6-7.5 microns, elliptic, [amyloid] ornamentation "in the form of a broken to partial reticulum with numerous free ends, and also a few isolated warts", prominences 0.2-0.5 microns high; basidia 4-spored, 37-45 x 9-10.5 microns; pleurocystidia: macrocystidia 45-52 x 6-8 microns, "fusoid-ventricose, acute, many with a gradual taper to apex, with 0-2 or more subapical constrictions, content slightly granular", pseudocystidia not observed; cheilocystidia 30-52 x 4.5-7 microns, similar to macrocystidia; cap cuticle a poorly defined ixocutis in young caps, "the hyphae thin-walled and septate, many grouped in fascicles (forming surface fibrils), appearing dry in age"

Spore deposit:
cream

Notes:
Lactarius torminosus var. torminosus material was cited from ID, NS, ON, AK, CO, ME, MI, MN, MO, NY, and VT. There are collections from BC at University of British Columbia that do not specify the variety, but a report in Schalkwijk-Barendsen(1) for BC does specify unchanging milk.

EDIBILITY

not recommended, but pickled in Europe and added to coffee in Norway, (Arora)