Cap color

Violet

Violet, lilac or lavender is one of the most unusual and most "alien" colors in the mushroom kingdom. When a beginner first sees a mushroom with a bright violet cap and gills, the first thought is: "This must be something poisonous." Paradoxically, the best-known violet mushroom is an excellent edible delicacy.

23 species in the database.

Edible violet: the wood blewit

M.Ya. Zerova in her «Key to the Fungi of Ukraine» describes the wood blewit (Lepista nuda) in detail. It is a large, firm, fleshy autumn mushroom.

In a young mushroom the cap, the gills and the stem all have an intense, almost neon violet (lilac) color. The flesh is also tinged violet and has a distinct pleasant perfumed (fruity or anise-like) smell. It is a high-quality conditionally edible mushroom that only needs a short preliminary boil before frying or pickling.

Poisonous and inedible violet lookalikes

David Arora and Roger Phillips warn: since the wood blewit is very popular, it is important not to confuse it with other violet mushrooms belonging to the genus of webcaps (Cortinarius).

1. Violet webcap (Cortinarius violaceus): This mushroom is also entirely violet. It differs from the blewit in that its cap is not smooth but scaly (velvety), and between the cap margin and the stem there is a cobweb-like veil (cortina). This species is listed in the Red Data Book, and eating it is prohibited.

2. Gassy webcap (Cortinarius traganus): Has a pale violet cap, but its flesh is rusty yellow or brown (in the blewit it is violet-tinged), and it smells extremely foul (of billy goat or acetylene). It is poisonous.

Another well-known violet mushroom is the amethyst deceiver (Laccaria amethystina). It is small, on a thin stem, entirely bright lilac, edible, but rarely picked because of its small size.

Questions and answers

Why did my wood blewit turn brown?

The blewit's violet pigment is very unstable. With age, or after frost, the wood blewit fades badly and turns a dirty brown, tawny or ochre color. Its "former" violet color remains only on the gills and stem. That is why identifying old blewits can be very difficult.

Does the violet color disappear during cooking?

Yes. If you boil a beautiful, bright violet blewit, in the pot it will turn dull grey or dirty brown. The pigment dissolves in water and is destroyed by heat.

Are there violet brittlegills?

Yes, for example the purple brittlegill or the fragile brittlegill can have dark violet or wine-lilac caps. They differ from the wood blewit in that brittlegills always keep perfectly white gills, while the blewit's gills are violet.

Sources

1.Зерова М.Я. та ін. Визначник грибів України. 1979
2.Roger Phillips. Mushrooms (Roger Phillips)
3.David Arora. Mushrooms Demystified
4.Index Fungorum