Lactarius barrowsii

Edible

(I have not yet Tried It)

Lactarius barrowsii

(Barrows' Lactarius)

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Lactarius barrowsii was first discovered by Chuck Barrows of Santa Fe, New Mexico (for whom Boletus barrowsii is also named) who sent specimens to Alexander H. Smith of the University of Michigan in the late 1960's. Despite its edibility and ample distribution in the southwest, there is little mention of it I could find on the internet except for its description listed below and its regular appearance on New Mexico Mycological Society foray species lists. I could locate no photographs or illustrations on the internet.

In the summer of 1999 there was a very plentiful crop of Boletus barrowsii (White King Bolete). I went to one of my favorite patches where I had found several the previous week very close to a paved highway. The previous week there had been abundant Boletus barrowsii as well as tons of Hygrophorus sp. and some Lactarius I could not identify and didn't spend much time with (too busy picking B. barrowsii). This time there were still many Hygrophorus but all that was left of the Boletus and Lactarius was stumps and a few large piles of larva-infested trimmings of both species. My immediate response was to drive a few more miles down a gravel road where no one else had been picking and I found more Boletus than I had ever fund at the first spot. This was the first and only time I ever saw any sign of any other people picking mushrooms in the areas I usually hunt. Upon thinking about it I became more interested in the Lactarius since obviously someone else had decided it was worth collecting. The Lactarius involved was pale, almost white but with pink to light cinnamon cap coloration becoming a light greenish with age or where wounded. It was somewhat reminiscent of L. deliciosus and L. rubrilacteus, though far paler in color, as if heavily bleached. The only place I saw it growing was with Boletus barrowsii and Hygrophoruus sp. under ponderosa pines. This is not generally a preferred location for either L. deliciosus or L. rubrilacteus. I did not check the latex color because by the time I got seriously interested the season was over and i was elsewhere picking chanterelles.

I later heard by talking to one of the forest rangers that there had been a mushroom group from Arizona collecting mushrooms in the area. They had traveled by bus and spent the night in the nearby campground and collected large numbers of mushrooms. I contacted the webmaster of the Arizona Mushroom Club web site to see if it was them and he knew anything about the mysterious Lactarius. Scott Bates told me that they always traveled bypersonal vehicles, never by bus, generally attempted to scatter their trimmings, and had not had any forays that year in New Mexico. He further indicated he knew of no other mushroom groups in Arizona. At this point the mushroom collectors became as much of a mystery as the Lactarius.

Somewhere about this time one of my sisters sent me the second edition of David Arora's Mushrooms Demystified. The first edition, which I had found in discards from the local public library, discussed what is now recognized as Boletus barrowsii as a lighter subspecies of B. edulis and made no mention of Lactarius barrowsii. The second edition notes L. barrowsii is similar to L. rubrilacteus, but much paler in color and found under ponderosa pines in the southwest. It appeared I had a likely candidate for the mustery mushroom. I looked forward to the summer of 2000 so I could verify the suspected identification by checking latex color. Unfortunately the summer of 2000 was one of the driest on record for the southwest and there were no Boletus barrowsii and no Lactarius of any sort. One year I picked and dried bushels of white king boletes and the next could not find a single one. So further identification of the mystery Lactarius will have to wait for the summer of 2001. From the description listed below I am confident I now know what it is.

Summer, 2001, Update: I have so far found only one Lacterius barrowsii in the Zuni Mountains where mushrooming is better than last year but still not great. There is no doubt this is what the mystery mushroom was. By contrast I found large numbers under lower elevation ponderosa pines in the White Mountains when I went to the Arizona Mushroom Club foray there. They received rain earlier and in larger quantities in the White Mountains than in the Zuni Mountains this summer. Pictures displayed here are of specimens from that location. I also found a fair number on Mount Taylor.

Lactarius barrowsii is reported by Jack S. States in Mushrooms and Truffles of the Southwest to be found in association with piñon and juniper as well as ponderosa pine. I have only found it with ponderosa pine.

Recipes on the Web - Links to recipes for this species on the web (in many languages)

The following information and links are compiled by B.W. Freyburger of Gallup, New Mexico, who regularly collects mushroms during the late summer and fall in the mountains near there. Please notify him of persistently dead links, additional links regarding this species, or errors in information or links herein through email by clicking on his name above. This site contains links to other sites which are not authored by or controlled by the webmaster of this site. Unfortunately these sites sometimes diasppear or or are reorganized or moved leaving the link nonfunctional. I try to check for dead links and update or remove them as often as possible. Information, recipes, photographs, illustrations, and other material on these sites is likely subject to copyright protection. Please respect the legal rights of persons creating this material. This site also utilizes some clip art obtained from sources which identified it as public domain or authorized for use on non-commercial sites. If you notice any material on this site which you believe to be used in violation of copyright laws please notify the webmaster immediately. Some clip art appearing here is original. All original material contained on this page not otherwise copyrighted is ©2001 by B.W. Freyburger. All rights reserved.

There is a saying in German that translates roughly as "All mushrooms are edible, but some kinds only once." Put another way, there are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old bold mushroom hunters. Make sure of the identification of anything you eat. Don't overdo it. Most adverse reactions I have had to wild mushrooms have usually been tied to over-consumption. Most of all, if you aren't absolutely sure what it is, it is generally wiser not to eat it. When in doubt throw it out. Following this philosophy I have not yet eaten L.. barrowsii and can only make guesses about how it tastes or how to cook it. With good rainfall expect more information about August of 2001.

Information contained in some web sites in Spain indicates that after consuming quantities of rovellons ones urine turns a bright red. One site which identifies rovellons as L. delicosus indicated one individual was very concerned and thought he must be dying when this happened the next morning and immediately went to the emergency room only to be told it was normal excretion by the kidneys of pigments in rovellons. Another site notes the same phenomenon with regard to rovellons but identifies rovellons as L. sanguifluus, thought by Arora to be identical to L. rubrilacteus. I am not sure why web sites in Spain talk so blatantly about this phenonmenon when it seems to go unmentioned in American sources. It would seem more likely that L. rubrilacteus/L. sanguifluus, which have dark red latex, would have this effect than L deliciosus, which has orange latex. However, the following web sites outside Spain also report that L. deliciosus will cause urine to be red: Caratteristiche in cucina di alcune famiglie, Fishing in Wales and Svet Gob - World of Mushrooms. Whichever species it is, if your urine turns bright red the next morning try not to let it panic you too much. I do not know whether L. barrowsii has this effect though its latex is described as being dark red like that of L. rubrilacteus/L. sanguifluus so it may be a possibility. I will hope for abundant rain next summer so I can have a chance to find out.