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Lactarius subvillosus Hesler & A.H. Sm.

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Scientific name
Lactarius subvillosus
Author
Hesler & A.H. Sm.
Common names
 
IUCN Specialist Group
Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball
Kingdom
Fungi
Phylum
Basidiomycota
Class
Agaricomycetes
Order
Russulales
Family
Russulaceae
Assessment status
Published
Assessment date
2024-12-10
IUCN Red List Category
LC
Assessors
Gregory Mueller (Chicago Botanic Garden / IUCN SSC Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball Specialist Group); Noah Siegel (25 Prospect Hill Road, Royalston, MA 01368, US / Global Fungus Assessment)
Reviewers
Anders Dahlberg (Swedish Species Information Centre, Uppsala / IUCN SSC Cup-fungus, Truffle and Ally Specialist Group)

Assessment Notes

The content on this page is fetched from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/272237310/272239764

Justification

Lactarius subvillosus is an uncommon to locally common species in northern California and Oregon, USA. There are a few scattered reports from Arizona and Colorado, but these need confirmation. Even discounting the potential disjunct records the species can be assessed as Least Concern given its broad distribution and absence of identified large scale threats.

Taxonomic notes

This species was described based on a California, USA type collection (Hesler and Smith 1979).

Geographic range

This species is known from Santa Cruz County, California, USA, in coastal and Coast Range forest north into northern Oregon, and scattered sites in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. It has also been reported from Arizona and Colorado, however collections from these areas should be compared genetically to California collections.

Population and Trends

The population is widespread, but this species is uncommon over much of the range, although locally common in Mendocino and Humboldt County, California. The population appears stable, but limited data are available to assess trends.

Population Trend: Stable

Habitat and Ecology

This species is ectomycorrhizal, occurring in mixed evergreen forests in northern California and conifer forests in Oregon. It is likely to be associated with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), with fruiting in fall and winter.

Threats

No specific threats have been identified with regards to this species.

Conservation Actions

No specific conservation actions is needed with regards to this species. Genetic sequencing of southwest and Rocky Mountains collections are needed to compare to California collections. Additional survey efforts are also needed to confirm its distribution and assess population trends.

Use and Trade

No use/trade is known.

Source and Citation

Mueller, G.M. & Siegel, N. 2025. Lactarius subvillosus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T272237310A272239764. Accessed on 20 November 2025.

Country occurrence