Home › Species › Golden Milk Cap

Golden Milk Cap

Lactarius alnicola · Family Russulaceae · Updated October 2026

816US records

11states

Janbusiest month

816 US records since 1941 (706 in the last 10 years)

Last seen May 27, 2026 (about 5 months ago) near Seaside, Monterey County, CA, photographed by an iNaturalist user, with the ID agreed on by other iNaturalist users (research grade). Most US records come from California, Colorado and Idaho, and the busiest months are Jan, Dec and Nov. (Data as of October 26, 2026; records can lag by weeks.)

⚠ Never eat a wild mushroom based on this site. We show where fungi have been recorded, nothing more. We never say any mushroom is edible or safe, and you shouldn't decide that from any website, app or photo. Many deadly mushrooms look like harmless ones. If someone may have eaten a wild mushroom, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away.

Lookalike warning. Many mushrooms, including deadly ones, closely resemble each other, and the only reliable identification comes from an expert looking at the actual specimen (often with spore prints or microscopy). Never use a name, photo or record count on this page to decide what something is.

When it's recorded

Records by month, all years. Busiest: Jan, Dec, Nov.

Where it's recorded

State	Records	Latest sighting
California	772	May 27, 2026
Colorado	20	Aug 14, 1997
Idaho	9	Sep 6, 1964
Tennessee	5	Sep 18, 2017
Oregon	3	Nov 6, 1972
Alaska	2	Jul 31, 2016
New Mexico	1	Aug 23, 1991
Arizona	1	Sep 14, 2024
Utah	1	Aug 7, 2004
Kansas	1	Aug 16, 2025
New York	1	Sep 14, 2022

Top counties

Alameda County, CA (132) · latest Jan 9, 2026
Marin County, CA (117) · latest Dec 24, 2025
Santa Clara County, CA (81) · latest Jan 14, 2026
Sonoma County, CA (77) · latest Dec 12, 2025
Contra Costa County, CA (73) · latest Jan 7, 2026
San Mateo County, CA (59) · latest Jan 19, 2026
Santa Cruz County, CA (36) · latest Dec 4, 2025
Los Angeles County, CA (34) · latest Jan 9, 2026
Santa Barbara County, CA (27) · latest Dec 27, 2025
San Diego County, CA (25) · latest Jan 14, 2026

Bring along

🍄

Regional mushroom field guideSee on Amazon

🍄

Folding mushroom knife with brushSee on Amazon

🍄

Wicker foraging basketSee on Amazon

🍄

10x hand lens / loupeSee on Amazon

🍄

Spore print paperSee on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.