Lactarius pubescens var. pubescens, Fries, “Downy Milky”
Medium to large white to cream dry convex cap having a sticky depressed center and a coarsely hairy inrolled margin that becomes flat to vase-shaped, somewhat smoother overall and more pinkish-orange on the disc with maturity. The white to cream gills are crowded, attached to subdecurrent, acquire a pale pinkish cast and bruise ochre-brown. The stipe is initially whitish and smooth, becoming hollow and yellow-brown from the base upward with a pinkish tinge at the apex. The spore print color is a pale pinkish cream. The latex is white, non-staining and unchanging. Lactarius pubescens can be found in damp areas under hardwoods, especially birch. Taste is acrid. Edibility unknown. This is in the Russulacae family of the Russulales order.