# Saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus)

**Lactarius deliciosus**

**Known today as.** An orange mushroom of pine woods that weeps carrot-colored milk.

Kind: Fungus  
Qualities: Cold and moist, as Galen held of all mushrooms.

## What was it used for?

Eaten across the Mediterranean since antiquity.

## What does modern science say?

A good edible; it can harmlessly turn the urine red.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **lactaroviolin and lactarazulene**: the sesquiterpenes that bruise green and turn the urine red
- **stearic acid esters**: in the latex

**Mechanism.** A safe edible, painted at Herculaneum, whose azulene pigments pass into the urine and colour it, harmlessly; it has been confused with the woolly milk cap, which gives gastroenteritis.

**Dose.** A food.

**Standing.** A food of Catalonia and Provence.

## What lore surrounds it?

It is painted, recognizably, on a fresco at Herculaneum.

## Sources

- Phillips, R. (2006). *Mushrooms*.
- Phillips, R. (2006). *Mushrooms*. Macmillan.

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*Saffron milk cap.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/saffron-milk-cap

Historical description, not medical advice.