Lactarius indigo

Lactarius indigo, commonly known as the indigo milk cap, indigo milky, indigo lactarius, blue lactarius, or blue milk mushroom, is a species of <a href="/facts/Agarics/pQqJmCeK">agaric fungus</a> in the family <a href="/facts/Russulaceae/d0xLLMcU">Russulaceae</a>.
The <a href="/facts/Basidiocarp/xgaQV94l">fruit body</a> color ranges from dark blue in fresh specimens to pale blue-gray in older ones. The milk, or <a href="/facts/Latex/IPBJbKnd">latex</a>, that oozes when the mushroom tissue is cut or broken (a feature common to all members of the genus <a href="/facts/Lactarius_(fungus)/C9S5gGqU">Lactarius</a>) is also <a href="/facts/Indigo/ICSGEsqH">indigo</a> blue, but slowly turns green upon exposure to air. The <a href="/facts/Pileus_(mycology)/6d91unJ1">cap</a> has a diameter of 4–15 cm (2–6 in), and the <a href="/facts/Stipe_(mycology)/032SVJIw">stem</a> is 2–8 cm (3⁄4–3+1⁄8 in) tall and 1–2.5 cm (3⁄8–1 in) thick.
It is a widely distributed species, growing naturally in eastern North America, East Asia, and Central America; it has also been reported in southern France. L. indigo grows on the ground in both <a href="/facts/Deciduous/7jQHVtdd">deciduous</a> and <a href="/facts/Coniferous/vDUgqxCx">coniferous</a> forests, where it forms <a href="/facts/Mycorrhiza/bAqxvRwm">mycorrhizal</a> associations with a broad range of trees. It is an <a href="/facts/Edible_mushroom/CVC20V4U">edible mushroom</a>, and is sold in rural markets in China, <a href="/facts/Guatemala/MoMcSnla">Guatemala</a>, and Mexico.

Lactarius indigo open-in-new

Lactarius indigo