The saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus) is a wild, carrot-orange woodland mushroom that bleeds a bright orange, carrot-coloured latex when cut — its single most diagnostic trait. A mycorrhizal partner of pine trees, it is foraged across the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the pine forests of the Southern Hemisphere, and is prized in Catalan, Provencal and Eastern European cooking for its firm, faintly crunchy flesh and mild, fruity-savoury flavour.