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The family Russulaceae contains two genera: Lactarius and Russula. In Europe there are some 160 species in each of the Lactarius and Russula genera.
The two genera in this section differ mainly in
that Lactarius produce milk (latex) from their gills when damaged whereas Russula species do not. Both genera are characterised by brittle flesh and
pale spores.
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Russula
The Russula genus contains mushrooms of many colours, from white,
yellow, tan and brown, through pink, orange red and purple to blue, purple
and even green. |
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| Russulas are fleshy fungi. Most of them are edible, although many species
are too hot and acrid for most people's taste, and some - Russula
mairei for example - cause stomach upsets. |
Lactarius
The Lactarius mushrooms are known as milk caps because of the latex
that is exuded from their gills when they are cut or broken. |
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| The initial colour of the milk, its taste, and
any colour change as the milk dries are valuable identification characters
in a group with little cap colour variation. |
| There are some 300 European species identified
within the order Russulales. They are divided more or less equally
between the two genera. |
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