Lactarius indigo

Lactarius indigo
The gills of L. indigo
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Russulales
Family:	Russulaceae
Genus:	Lactarius
Species:	L. indigo
Binomial name
Lactarius indigo (Schwein.) Fr. (1838)
Synonyms
Agaricus indigo Schwein. (1822) Lactarius canadensis Winder (1871)[1] Lactifluus indigo (Schwein.) Kuntze (1891)[2]

Species of fungus

Lactarius indigo Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is depressed
	Hymenium is adnate or decurrent
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is yellow
	Ecology is mycorrhizal
	Edibility is edible

Lactarius indigo, commonly known as the indigo milk cap, indigo milky, the indigo (or blue) lactarius, or the blue milk mushroom, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Russulaceae.

The fruit body color ranges from dark blue in fresh specimens to pale blue-gray in older ones. The milk, or latex, that oozes when the mushroom tissue is cut or broken (a feature common to all members of the genus Lactarius) is also indigo blue, but slowly turns green upon exposure to air. The cap has a diameter of 5–15 cm (2–6 in), and the stem 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 deciduous and coniferous forests, where it forms mycorrhizal associations with a broad range of trees. It is an edible mushroom, and is sold in rural markets in China, Guatemala, and Mexico.