Wood Blewit vs Amethyst Deceiver
Lepista nuda compared with Laccaria amethystina — how to tell them apart in the field.
How to Tell Them Apart
Much larger mushroom (cap 6–15 cm) with lilac-blue colors that can overlap with the amethyst deceiver's palette. However, Wood Blewit has crowded gills (not widely spaced), a much thicker and more robust build, and a pinkish spore print. Also edible and more commonly collected for the table.
Side-by-Side Identification
| Trait | Wood Blewit | Amethyst Deceiver |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | 6-15 cm across. Convex when young, flattening and sometimes developing a wavy, irregular margin with age. Color is rich lilac-violet in young specimens, fading to tan, buff, or brownish-lilac as it matures. Surface is smooth, slightly sticky when wet, and often has a faint sheen. | 2–6 cm across. Convex when young, flattening and sometimes becoming slightly wavy or irregular with age. Deep amethyst-violet when fresh and moist, fading dramatically to pale lilac, buff, or almost white when dry. Surface is finely scurfy or scaly. Hygrophanous — color depends heavily on moisture content. |
| Gills | Closely spaced, sinuate (notched where they meet the stem). Lilac to violet when young, fading to pale brownish-lilac with age. The violet gill color is one of the best diagnostic features. | Widely spaced (distant) — this is a key Laccaria feature. Thick and waxy-looking. Deep purple when fresh, fading to pale lilac. Attached to the stem (adnate to slightly decurrent). Often with a white powdery coating from spores at maturity. |
| Stem | 5-10 cm tall, 1.5-3 cm thick. Solid, fibrous, often slightly swollen at the base. Lilac to violet, especially at the base, with a finely fibrillose surface. No ring. The stem base is often embedded in a mat of violet-tinted mycelium in the leaf litter. | 4–10 cm tall, 0.3–0.8 cm thick. Slender, tough, and fibrous. Same purple color as cap when fresh, fading similarly. Often twisted or slightly bent. Base sometimes with white mycelial threads. |
| Spore print | Pale pinkish-buff. Not white, not brown. This intermediate spore print color, combined with the violet coloration, is diagnostic. | White. |
| Odor | Distinctive, often described as perfumed, floral, or faintly of frozen orange juice. Some people detect an anise-like quality. The smell is unique among common mushrooms and is a useful identification feature. | Faint, not distinctive. |
| Habitat | Saprobic on decomposing leaf litter, compost, garden mulch, and rich organic debris. Found in deciduous and mixed woodlands, hedgerows, parks, gardens, and even compost heaps. Often forms large fairy rings. Prefers rich, moist soils with abundant organic matter. Not mycorrhizal. | Mycorrhizal with a wide range of deciduous and coniferous trees including beech, oak, birch, spruce, and pine. Found in leaf litter on the forest floor, often in large groups or troops. Prefers damp, shaded woodland with acidic to neutral soils. Sometimes found along woodland paths and in mossy areas. |
| Season | Late autumn through early winter, typically October through December in the Northern Hemisphere. One of the latest-fruiting edible mushrooms, often appearing after the first frosts. Can fruit into January in mild maritime climates. | Autumn through early winter, typically September through December. Can appear as early as August after heavy rains. Peak season is October–November across most of Europe. |
Found one of these in the wild? Don't rely on memory — identify it from a photo with Orangutany and check it against both species before you touch it.