Saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus) - identification, habitat and cultivation

Jun Li Zhang Tibet Academy of Agricultural

and Animal Sciences 147 West Jingzhu Road

Lhasa, Tibet CHINA 850032

Dr Ian R. Hall and Wei-Ping Xiong Truffles and Mushrooms (Consulting) Ltd

(Invermay Agricultural Centre) P.O. Box 268, Dunedin NEW ZEALAND 9054

Alessandra Zambonelli Department of Agricultural Science

University of Bologna Via Fanin 46, Bologna

ITALY 40127

Di Wang Soil and fertiliser Institute,

Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Science

4 Shizishan Road, Chengdu Sichuan, CHINA 610066

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P.O. Box 268, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand mobile +64-27-226 1844 email truffle@trufflesandmushrooms.co.nz web https://trufflesandmushrooms.co.nz/ To cite this report: Wang, D.; Zhang, J.L.; Zambonelli, A.; Hall, I.R.; Xiong, W.P. 2020. Saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus), identification, habitat and cultivation. Dunedin, New Zealand, Truffles and Mushrooms (Consulting) Limited. The order of the authors is simply alphabetical for their counties followed by their given names © Truffles & Mushrooms (Consulting) Ltd

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Contents

1 Introduction 4

1.1 Types of mushrooms 4

1.2 Saffron milk cap and lookalikes 5

2 Habitat 7

2.1 Climatic conditions in productive areas 9

3 Cultivation 10

3.1 Site selection 10

3.2 Planting instructions 10

3.3 Plant husbandry 15

3.4 Harvesting 15

3.5 Productivity 17

3.6 Prices 18

4 Contaminating fungi 18

5 Further information 22

6 Acknowledgements 22

7 More information 22

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1 Introduction

1.1 Types of mushrooms

There are three kinds of edible mushrooms in the world: those that live off dead plant or animal

remains (the saprobic mushrooms, e.g., the button mushroom that lives on supermarket

shelves), those that grow on living plants or animals and cause disease (pathogenic

mushrooms) and those that live in a close beneficial symbiotic relationship with the roots of

trees and perennial shrubs (Hall et al. 2003). The last of these are the edible mycorrhizal

mushrooms.

Mycorrhizas (from two Greek words meaning fungus-root) are easily seen if you go into a pine

forest and lift up the fallen needles. There you will see mats of mycorrhizal fungi growing on

the rotting needles (Figure 1) and if you have a hand lens, or are sufficiently short sighted, you

might also see the fungus wrapping itself around the root tips of the tree just like the fingers of

a glove (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Mats of

mycorrhizal fungi can be

seen on the litter under

radiata pines (Pinus

radiata).

Figure 2. Swollen black mycorrhizas of Coenococcum graniforme on the tips of radiata pine

roots.

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1.2 Saffron milk cap and lookalikes

Most people are now aware that several mycorrhizal truffles have been cultivated in New

Zealand on the roots of trees, are found using dogs or pigs, and can sell for thousands of

dollars a kilogram (Hall et al. 2007). However, not many are aware that some of the other

thousand plus species of edible mycorrhizal mushrooms (Hall et al. 2016) have also been

cultivated (Hall et al. 2003b). Three of these are shoro (Rhizopogon rubescens) (Hall et al.

2003a), the saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus) (e.g. Guerin-Laguette et al. 2020), and very

recently Cantharellus anzutake one of the chanterelles which is on the brink of cultivation

(Ogawa et al. 2019).

The saffron milk cap is loved by chefs for the colour it brings to a meal, and the faint peppery

or mildly bitter flavour which has helped make it the number one mushroom in Spain and a

favourite in continental Europe since Roman times (Front page, Figures 3 - 5). The saffron milk

cap gets its common name from the bright orange milk that bleeds from the mushrooms when

they are cut or damaged (Figure 5). This, the concentric rings of carrot-coloured blotches on

the surface of the cap and stalk, and its tendency to turn green with age (Figure 4) or after

rough handling, makes this mushroom easily recognisable (Figure 3-5). Sometimes the saffron

milk cap is confused with a lookalike mushroom called Lactarius deterrimus

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactarius_deterrimus). This is less palatable and a

disappointment when it finds its way into a meal.

Figure 3. Grade 1 saffron milk cap harvested from a radiata pine plantation near Castlemaine,

Victoria, Australia. Transporting the mushrooms upside-down in baskets ensures the

mushrooms reach the market in good condition.

Figure 4. Green blotches develop on old or damaged saffron milk caps.

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In New Zealand, a country where mycophagy (mushroom eating) is not strong, the poisonous

brown roll rim (Paxillus involutus, Figure 6) has also been mistaken for the saffron milk cap.

There are also some poisonous lookalikes such as the woolly milk cap (Lactarius torminosus)

(Hall et al. 2003). Lactarius sect. Deliciosi (a section of the genus Lactarius) are often heavily

infested by dipterous larvae which render their mushrooms inedible (Ran et al. 2019). It has

been suggested that this is because the antifeedant properties of the mild-tasting latex of the

group are relatively ineffective (Guerin-Laguette et al. 2020; Nuytinck 2004-2005). However, in

New Zealand saffron milk cap mushrooms appear to be less affected by fly larvae than in the

UK and China perhaps because our native insects have never learned to take a liking to them.

Figure 5. The saffron milk cap bleeds an orange-coloured sap when the caps or stalks are

damaged.

Figure 6. The poisonous brown roll rim (Paxillus involutus) has

been mistaken for the saffron milk cap. It has a different colour

than the saffron milk cap, it does not bleed an orange-coloured

sap when damaged, it turns reddish-brown when cut and has a

tightly involuted margin to the cap (inset).

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2 Habitat

The saffron milk cap is invariably found growing only under Pinaceae. Known hosts include

Pinus halepensis (Aleppo Pine, Jerusalem Pine), Pinus pinea (stone pine), Pinus pinaster

(maritime pine), Pinus radiata (radiata pine), Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) and Picea glauca x

engelmanni. Pinus nigra (black pine) is also a possible host (Anon 2007; Díaz et al. 2009;

Kranabetter 2009; Wang et al. 2002; Wang & Hall; 2004). The characteristic orange or orange-

brown mycorrhizas and rhizomorphs (ropes of interwoven fungal hyphal threads) are easily

seen in the litter layer and soil under infected trees with the aid of a hand lens (Figures 7- 9).

Figure 7. The saffron milk cap fungus wraps the root tips of pines to form gold to orange

coloured mycorrhizas.

Figure 8. A close up of the pale orange-brown mycorrhizas of saffron milk cap in the soil under

a radiata pine. The cottony white threads are the hyphae of the fungus which ramify through

the soil and absorb nutrients some of which are available to the host tree.

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Figure 9. The tip of a radiata pine root tip with fine

yellow-green lactifers crossing the root tip. These are

filled with the orange pigment that is also found in the

mushrooms.

Figure 10. Distribution of the saffron milk cap in the

British Isles and Ireland. From the UK’s National

Biodiversity Network using data supplied by the British

Mycological Society 2008.

The saffron milk cap is found throughout Continental Europe and as far east as Israel,

Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine and Western Russia, and from the north of Sweden to the south

of Spain. It is found throughout the UK (Figure 10) but is said to be more common in Scotland

although occasionally it can be found in abundance elsewhere such as coastal Anglesey,

Wales, during early October (Figure 11). The saffron milk cap has also made the accidental

journey to Australia, Chile and South Africa probably on the roots of imported trees. It is found

throughout Victoria and New South Wales, Australia, in Pinus radiata forests where it is

collected for the restaurant and gourmet trade (Figure 11, Table 1). It has also been found

throughout China (Zang et al. 2007). A species very similar to Lactarius deliciosus is found in

the USA but this is molecularly distinct (Kuo 2011).

It is impossible to estimate total world production but the size of the market can be gauged

from the limited literature available. For example, in a paper by Oliach and colleagues (2000),

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it was reported that in the small village of Laspaúles, Huesca, one tonne of saffron milk cap

were traded each day during the season. In eastern Asia thousands of tonnes of hatsudake

(Lactarius hatsudake), a similar mushroom to the saffron milk cap are consumed each year.

Clearly, the potential for producing these mushrooms in the Southern Hemisphere for off-

season Northern Hemisphere markets is considerable.

Figure 11. Saffron milk

cap site under Scots pine,

in northwest Wales.

Figure 12. A radiata pine

plantation near

Castlemaine, Australia,

photographed in June

with a standing crop of

saffron milk cap that Ian

Hall estimated to be

between 100 and 200 kg

per hectare.

2.1 Climatic conditions in productive areas

The climatic requirements of the saffron milk cap can be gleaned from the climates in

productive areas (Table 1) such as Catalonia, Castille-Leon and Aragon, the most productive

regions of Spain (de Román & Boa 2006). From this compilation it is obvious that the saffron

milk cap fruits in a very wide range of climatic regions ranging from cool temperate to

subtropical.

Although little is known about what constitutes an ideal location some suggestions might be

proposed. For example, relatively low temperatures at the start of autumn (September in the

Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere) are likely to be related to early

fruiting. Similarly, a relatively high autumn rainfall coupled to high temperatures could produce

mushrooms with a high moisture content and short shelf life which would be a significant

problem if the mushrooms were to be exported. In Ian Hall’s experience mushrooms produced

in June under relatively dry conditions at Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia, have excellent

keeping qualities. Similarly, mushrooms produced by Hannes and Theres Krummenacher near

Nelson, New Zealand, between March and June have a good shelf life providing rainfall is not

excessive.

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3 Cultivation

Because the saffron milk cap grows in a mycorrhizal association with pines it can only be

cultivated in plantations established with specially inoculated trees. The first saffron milk cap

infected trees were planted in New Zealand in August 2000 (Wang et al. 2002; Wang & Hall

2004). Standard forestry planting practices were employed but plant spacing and the

subsequent management varied between each of the experimental sites and ranged from

carefully tending the trees to almost complete neglect. On the basis of early successes in the

experimental sites, in 2003 First Light Mushrooms was established (Open Corporates 2020)

and a joint venture was established with Crop & Food Research.

3.1 Site selection

Ideally, the saffron milk cap should be grown in a soil that suits the cultivation of the host pine

as well as the fungus – a relatively low pH, low levels of plant available phosphorus, etc. So

comprehensive soil testing during the planning stages is recommended. Ideally the area

should not be too warm and overly wet in autumn because under these conditions the

mushrooms may deteriorate faster and have a short shelf life. Pastureland is ideal providing it

is not too fertile whilst land where pines have been grown in the past may be unacceptable.

Truffles & Mushrooms can assist in the appraisal or selection of potential sites. Fruiting

appears to have been triggered by a fall in temperature from 20°C to 14°C over a period of

several weeks. The optimum pH seems to be between 5.0 and 5.9 although in Europe the

spread in pH is 3.9 to 6.5. The climate where the saffron milk cap is found in Europe and New

Zealand ranges from cool temperate to Mediterranean to continental (Table 1)

(https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/, https://www.mapsofworld.com/world-maps/world-climate-

map.html).

3.2 Planting instructions

Trees that carry edible mycorrhizal mushrooms such as the saffron milk cap, come in a variety

of containers including special slotted Plantec-Lannen trays (Figures 13, 14) constructed to

stop root spiralling, black polythene planter bags and Fullpots. Make sure that you water the

plants regularly particularly if there is to be a delay of a few days between delivery and

planting. We don’t recommend you store your plants for longer than a week or so before

planting.

We suggest spacing the trees 5 to 6 metres apart. Plant during dull, showery weather, when

there is not much wind. Do not plant in full sunlight and in windy conditions. This is because

the plants do not have access to much water in their containers and can dehydrate in a matter

of hours. This might set back their growth by months if not permanently. Plants that have been

raised in slotted Plantec-Lannen trays or Fullpots (Figures 13 - 16) can be planted directly into

the planting hole without prior treatment but take great care to ensure that any roots coming

out from the sides or bottom of the soil core are arranged naturally. Stuffing the root ball down

into the planting hole is rarely successful particularly if the roots are forced upwards (Figure

18). We hate to have to say this, but please make sure you remove the pot before planting! It

has happened. The root ball should be just covered by 1-2 cm of soil. Irrigate once or twice

daily to begin with and make sure that the irrigation water is penetrating to a depth below the

roots of the plants and not just the top few centimetres of soil. If you have purchased plants

that have been raised in black polythene planter bags you should contact your supplier for

additional planting instructions.

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Table 1. Some climatic data for areas where the saffron milk cap fruits. Places in brackets are the nearest climate station with easily accessible data. For sources of

the data see Hall et al. 2017.

Latitude

( ° : ´)

Elevation

(m)

Annual

rainfall

(mm)

Mean “Autumn”

rainfall (mm)

(March-May or

Sept-Nov)

Accumulated

degree days

(>10°C)

Mean daily

temperature

(°C) in summer

July/January

Mean daily

temperature

(°C) in winter

January/July

Mean daily

temperature

(°C) at start

of “Autumn”

March/Sept

Annual

sunshine

hours

Sweden

Karesuando 68 : 30 327 443 123 108 12.8 -16 5.0 443

Gunnarn 65 : 00 280 558 150 295 14.5 -12.9 7.0 558

Goteborg 57 : 48 20 776 249 607 16.2 -1.6 12.2 776

UK

Tongue (Kinbrace) 58 : 14 103 993 313 233 13.3 2.0 10.5 1192

Edinburgh 55 : 55 61 676 193 440 14.8 3.6 12.3 1406

Sheffield 53 : 20 131 825 216 685 16.6 4.0 13.7 1381

Anglesey (Valley) 53 : 15 10 828 264 662 15.7 5.8 14.0 1621

Bridgnorth (Shawbury) 52 : 48 72 656 181 589 16.0 3.8 13.1 1398

New Forest (Everton) 50 : 54 16 764 239 785 16.7 5.3 14.5 1751

Spain

Burgos, Castille-Leon 42 : 24 891 573 149 910 18.4 2.6 15.8 2220

Salamanca, Castille-Leon 41 : 00 795 389 113 1296 21.0 3.7 17.5 2602

Zaragoza, Aragon 41 : 42 258 314 92 1991 24.3 6.2 20.6 2638

Australia

Oberon 33 : 41 1095 947 184 947 17.6 4.1 15.2 ≈ 2738

Jenolan State forest (Katoomba) 33 : 43 1015 1400 389 1171 18.0 5.9 15.9 ≈ 2190

Killara (Marsfield) 33 : 47 65 1129 327 2552 22.3 11.0 15.2 ≈ 2190

Bundanoon (Mittagong) 34 : 35 635 893 244 1362 19.6 6.7 16.5 ≈ 2190

Castlemaine 37 : 06 311 559 124 1443 19.9 7.3 17.3 ≈ 2373

New Zealand

Gisborne 38 : 40 9 1058 292 1430 18.3 9.0 17.1 2172

Te Kuiti 38 : 20 61 1531 360 1377 18.3 8.2 17.3 1749

Moutere Hills (*Riwaka) 41 : 21 110 1065 265 1197 17.7 7.9 16.6 2418*

Waipara 43 : 05 64 729 195 1049 17.5 6.5 15.4 1999*

Palmerston 45 : 29 21 656 169 582 14.8 5.4 13.3 1784

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Where there are browsing animals such as rabbits, hares, and possums, and in windy areas,

there are considerable advantages in protecting trees with tree guards or tree shelters. In the

truffle industry tree guards 600 mm (high) x 150 mm x 150 mm have been used extensively.

Two suppliers are Ascot and Tubex Shrubshelters http://www.ascotindustries.co.nz/stakes--

supports/ascot-tree-clips/tree-vine-guards.html, http://www.tubex.com/product-selector.php

and https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/polypropylene-tree-shelters.html (Figure 13 and 17).

Preferably, the shelters should be at least 150 mm wide to allow for air movement within the

box. Taller and narrower boxes and plastic sleeves, as used in viticulture, have not been tried

but these have caused problems when used for truffle cultivation. We have not observed any

problems associated with high temperatures inside shrub shelters providing there has been

adequate irrigation although cutting a few 30 mm diameter holes in the lower portion will help

(Figure 17).

Figure 13 (right). A section of a Plantec Lannen

tray with a young saffron milk cap fruiting between

two of the cells.

Figure 14 (left). A tree raised in a

Plantec-Lannen tray ready for planting.

The free roots on the sides must either

be pruned off or great care taken to

ensure they do not fold upwards when

the roots are put into the planting hole.

Note the inexpensive Chinese tree

shelters in the background.

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Figure 15. In New Zealand, about 5% of our plants produce mushrooms before outplanting.

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Figure 16. Plants mycorrhized with Lactarius deliciosus producing clusters of mycorrhizas (left)

with precocious mushrooms forming on the bottom of the pots just 10 months after inoculation.

Figure 17 (above). A 600 x 150 x

150 mm Tree Guard fold-up box

with three ventilation holes to

provide additional air circulation.

Figure 18 (left). The

consequences of not taking

sufficient care when planting an

inoculated tree shown in Figure

14. The leaves were yellow and

the tree almost dead.

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While Fiberguard boxes may also suit some applications, some of our trees tend to be over 40

cm high and might get their tops nibbled off by rabbits. The KBC SquareGuard (Figure 17),

which are 15 cm x 15 cm and 60 cm to 120 cm in height, may be better suited for the tallest of

our trees

https://www.advancelandscape.co.nz/shop/Plant+Establishment/FiberGuard+Combo.html and

https://www.advancelandscape.co.nz/shop/Plant+Establishment/KBC+SquareGuard+600mm+

to+1.2m.html).

3.3 Plant husbandry

Although saffron milk cap mushrooms have been produced in plantations that were virtually

neglected, private research has shown that profitability can be boosted if the trees are

managed correctly. Cutting the vegetation close to the soil surface, the judicious use of

irrigation, and removing lower branches from the trees are parts of a management strategy

that has been shown to pay dividends (Figures 19 and 23).

Figure 19. A crude, but very effective, irrigation system was used in Hannes and Theres

Krummenacher’s saffron milk cap pine plantation near Nelson. Note the removal of the lower

branches from the small tree to the right of centre.

3.4 Harvesting

It is essential that the mushrooms are harvested carefully to avoid damage and the green

discolouration that follows. It is also very important that there are no traces soil on the stem or

in the gills (Figures 19 - 22). This is partly because people don’t like chewing sand. However, a

much more important reason is that mycorrhizal mushrooms and truffles can carry potential

pest and disease organisms (Hall et al. 2008) and those scheduled for export and

contaminated with soil could either be refused a phytosanitary certificate by the exporting

country or rejected by biosecurity at the destination.

The techniques used by Portia and John Barnes to harvest wild mushrooms in Australia

involves gently lifting the mushroom with two fingers either side of the stalk and then sliding a

knife under it to severe the stalk as close as possible to the soil surface. The stalk is then

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trimmed to remove any soil and the cap placed upside down in flat-based baskets. They are

then kept cool and rushed to the market so as to arrive in perfect condition (Figure 3).

Figures 20 and 21. Support the mushroom with two fingers either side of the stalk then cut.

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Figure 22. Trimming off the base of the stalk to remove adhering debris. The bright saffron-

coloured latex can be seen oozing from the base of the stalk.

3.5 Productivity

In 2000 when Portia and John Barnes took Ian Hall to several saffron milk cap radiata pine

plantations near Castlemaine and Daylesford in Victoria, Australia, he estimated the standing

crop to be somewhere between 100 and 200 kg per hectare (Figure 12). This would mean that

over the whole of the season the crop must have been several times this. Romá et al. (1997)

also noted production of more than 100 kg per hectare on Scot’s pine (Pinus sylvestris) in

central Pyrenees forests. However, much higher production figures are being achieved by

Theres and Hannes Krummenacher in Nelson, New Zealand, from their saffron milk cap

inoculated trees.

Figure 23. Production of saffron milk cap extrapolated to per hectare in Theres and Hannes

Krummenacher’s saffron milk cap glade from planting in 2000 to the 2009-2010 season.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Year

Pro

duction p

er

hecta

re (

kg)

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Subsequently, Theres and Hannes Krummenacher’s saffron milk cap glade produced far more

mushrooms than ever expected. Production over the first 10 years extrapolated to kilograms

per hectare per year shown in Figure 23. In year 9 production averaged 6 kg per tree. With the

trees planted at about 600 per hectare it is estimated that the value of the mushrooms based

on farmer’s market prices in just year 9 would exceed the estimated value of the timber at year

30.

Production in a small research plantation in a lawn at Plant & Food Research at Lincoln was

somewhat less productive (Guerin-Laguette et al. 2020). It was planted with 5 m x 5 m

spacing, began fruiting 5 years after planting and reached a maximum at year 10 when

production averaged 1.25 kg per tree. Production then began to fall which was attributed to

canopy closure. However, inadequate irrigation, desiccating winds and a lack of aggressive

tree pruning might also have been responsible (Hall unpublished; Krummenacher pers. comm.

2008).

3.6 Prices

In their 2002 paper on marketing the saffron milk cap in Northern Spain, Miriam de Roman and

Eric Boa wrote,

“Pickers are paid an average of 2 €/kg, although the prices can range from 1 to 5 €/kg

depending on the quality of the mushrooms and their supply and demand on a given

day…”

“At the beginning of the season, prices vary between 3 and 5 €/kg. The previous

year’s prices were as high as 12 €/kg., but that was an exception. In mid-season

prices go down to 1 €/kg, and at the end of the period prices rise again but never

reach the high figures paid at the beginning. Most pickers would go to collect saffron

milk caps even if prices were as low as 0.40 €/kg, but below that price they consider it

would not be worth it.”

“We visited several retailer stalls at La Boquería market in Barcelona in November

2002, and found that saffron milk caps were available in all the stalls which usually

sell fruits and vegetables. They were divided into classes, and prices were 6.90–13

€/Kg for first class, 4.90–5.99 €/Kg for second class, 2.90–4.90 €/Kg for third class, and

0.99–1.49 €/Kg for broken pieces.”

“478 metric tons of saffron milk caps worth €1.5 million are sold on average in

Mercabarna every year, with prices ranging between €3.6 and €7.2 /Kg.”

About the same time that Miriam and Eric were doing their work, the price of Australian grade

1 saffron milk cap was A$40/kg in Melbourne which is currently somewhat more than saffron

milk cap sell for in New Zealand. Clearly, a European price of €40/kg Ian Hall was quoted in

2000 was either exceptional, exaggerated or the normal price in upmarket retails stores such

as Harrod’s in London. At the time of writing (mid-June 2020) the only price I could find was on

Woodland Foods web site (https://woodlandfoods.com/products/saffron-milk-cap-

mushrooms/c-23/p-13778) where dried saffron milk cap pieces were for sale for US$65.44/lb

(= NZ$225/kg).

4 Contaminating fungi

Competing mycorrhizal fungi have posed problems for truffle growers since the late 1970s

when truffles were first cultivated by inoculating seedlings with truffle ascospores. Ensuring

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that the sporal inoculum was not contaminated with those of other species proved to be

essential. Even so, other contaminating mycorrhizal fungi, insect pests, nematodes, etc. can

creep into the best of establishments (e.g. Ran et al. 2019). The origin of these can be, for

example, piles of waste potting mix, old plants in corners of greenhouses, contaminated

potting mix, wind-blown dust and dirt inside or surrounding greenhouses, and on clothing and

boots.

Some contaminants of Lactarius mycorrhized plants are Thelephora spp. (Hall unpublished

information) (Figures 25, 26), Peziza ostracoderma (X. He & D. Wang pers. comm.) (Figure

27), Sphaerosporella sp. (Di Wang pers. comm.) (Figure 28) and Aleuria sp. (Figure 29) (Hall

pers. comm.).

Figure 24. A characteristic fan-shaped

fungal mat of Thelephora sp. growing

over a polythene sheet towards the foot

of a plastic pot.

Figure 25. Thelephora sp. growing up

and over the lower sections of a pine

seedling.

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Figure 26. Peziza ostracoderma (Pezizaceae, Pezizales) fruiting on a pine seedling inoculated

with Lactarius deliciosus.

Figure 27. Sphaerosporella sp. (Pyronemataceae, Pezizales) growing on the surface of pines

inoculated with Lactarius deliciosus. The straight, thread-like hyphae (lower centre) seem to be

characteristic of Pyronemataceae.

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Figure 28. Aleuria sp. (Pyronemataceae, Pezizales) fruiting on a Melfert bag containing a pine

seedling inoculated with Lactarius deliciosus.

22

5 Further information

If after reading this booklet you have questions regarding the cultivation of the saffron milk

cap, we suggest you contact one of the authors in China, Italy or New Zealand.

Dr Ian Hall’s details are below:

email: truffle@trufflesandmushrooms.co.nz

web: https://trufflesandmushrooms.co.nz/

P.O. Box 268, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.

If you need assistance establishing a saffron milk cap grove in New Zealand please contact

Bart Acres, bart.acres@gmail.com, telephone 021-148 8815.

6 Acknowledgements

The order of the authors is simply alphabetical for their counties followed by an

alphabetical arrangement for their given names.

We acknowledge the pioneering work conducted by Nicole Poitou of INRA (Poitou et al. 1984,

1989), and Yun Wang when he worked for Crop & Food Research in New Zealand and

successfully developed methods for the commercial cultivation of the saffron milk cap in 2003.

We are grateful to Xiao Lan He, Wei Hong Pong, Bing Cheng Gan of the Sichuan Academy of

Agricultural Science, and Nyima Tashi and Hui Juan Sun of the Tibet Academy of Agriculture

and Animal Sciences.

For commercial reasons we have withheld details of the methods used to produce saffron milk

cap plants over the past decade.

7 More information

Anderton, J. 2008. New mushroom venture applauded. Beehive.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-mushroom-venture-applauded

Anon. 2007. Utilization of inoculated pine seedlings in nurseries by edible fungi such as the

ectomycorrhizal Saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus). Tour 4 – Cévennes.

Rhizosphere 2. Montpellier, France. www.montpellier.inra.fr/rhizosphere-

2/programme/Tour_4_Cevennes.pdf

Australian Bureau of Meteorology. 2008. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/

Crop & Food Research. 2008. Media release: Science breakthough leads to new gourmet

mushrooms. Scoop. https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0805/S00058/science-

breakthough-leads-to-new-gourmet-mushrooms.htm

De Román, M.; Boa, E. 2006. The marketing of Lactarius deliciosus in Northern Spain.

Economic botany 60: 284–290.

Díaz, G.; Carrillo, C.; Honrubia, M. 2009. Production of Pinus halepensis seedlings inoculated

with the edible fungus Lactarius deliciosus under nursery conditions. New Forests,

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DOI 10.1007/s11056-009-9142-y, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11056-

009-9142-y

Forestry New Zealand. 2019. Forestry health & safety. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/growing-and-

harvesting/forestry/new-zealand-forests-and-the-forest-industry/protecting-nz-

forests/taking-care-of-your-forest/forestry-health-and-safety/

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