Amethyst deceiver

Laccaria amethystina

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Mushrooms

By Roger Phillips

Published 2006

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Amethyst deceiver Laccaria amethystina (Huds.) Cooke. syn. L. laccata var. amethystea sensu auct. (illustrated 50% life size) Cap 1–6cm across, convex to flattened or centrally depressed; deep purplish-lilac when moist, drying pale lilac-buff; slightly scurfy at centre, especially with age. Stem 40–100×5–10mm; concolorous with cap; becoming hollow, covered in whitish fibres below but mealy near the apex, base covered in lilac down, passing into the lilac mycelium. Flesh tinged lilac; thin; taste and smell not distinctive. Gills often distant; concolorous with cap, becoming powdered white. Spores 9–11¼ in diameter, globose, spiny. Spore print white. Habitat in coniferous or deciduous woods, often with beech; late summer to early winter. Very common. Edible and worth collecting if found in abundance. Note the now accepted spelling.