European beech forms ectomycorrhizas with a range of fungi including members of the genera Amanita, Boletus, Cantharellus, Hebeloma and Lactarius; these fungi are important in enhancing uptake of water and nutrients from the soil.
An interesting case is that of the strict association of selected Lactarius species - such as L. tesquorum and L. cistophilus - with Cistus spp.
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Cistus species are obligate seeding, early colonizers that follow disturbance, particularly fire, in low maquis-type Mediterranean ecosystems, rendering their ectomycorrhizal ecology particularly intriguing.
Lactarius | Lactarius deliciosus | Lactarius volemus | Lactarius deterrimus |
The chemical responsible for the distinct odor of the candy cap was isolated in 2012 by chemical ecologist and natural product chemist William Wood of Humboldt State University, from collections of Lactarius rubidus.
The species was first described by American mycologists Lexemuel Ray Hesler and Alexander H. Smith in their 1979 monograph on the North American species of Lactarius.
A fresco in the Roman town of Herculaneum appears to depict Lactarius deliciosus and is one of the earliest pieces of art to illustrate a fungus.
Hesler and Smith in their 1960 study of North American species of Lactarius defined L. indigo as the type species of subsection Caerulei, a group characterized by blue latex and a sticky, blue cap.
incanus was described by Lexemuel Ray Hesler and Alexander H. Smith in their 1979 North American species of Lactarius.
According to the classification proposed by Lexemuel Ray Hesler and Alexander H. Smith in their 1979 monograph of North American Lactarius species, L. repraesentaneus belongs in the stirps Speciosus of the section Aspideini, of the subgenus Piperites of genus Lactarius.
Although the fungus is suspected to be mycorrhizal (like all Lactarius), there was a wide diversity of plant species growing in the open, dry forest where the mushroom was found (including members of the tree families Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Myrtaceae, Nyctaginaceae, and Polygonaceae—all known to form mycorrhizal associations), so the authors did not speculate on any specific interactions.