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Flowery blewit or Wood blewit

How they differ, how to recognize them and which is more dangerous — a mushroom comparison

The short answer

Flowery blewit and Wood blewit are similar species: Flowery blewit is edible, while Wood blewit is conditionally edible. The main visible difference: use: Flowery blewit — cook fresh, pickling, salting, Wood blewit — cook fresh, pickling, drying. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: cap color, taste, partner trees.

Flowery blewit (Lepista irina)

Flowery blewit

Lepista irina

EdibleExpert-verified
Wood blewit (Lepista nuda)

Wood blewit

Lepista nuda

Conditionally edibleExpert-verified

📊 Comparing characteristics

Comparison of characteristics: Flowery blewit and Wood blewit
Edibility class

Flowery blewit

Edible

Wood blewit

Conditionally edible
Season

Flowery blewit

Autumn

Wood blewit

Autumn
Use

Flowery blewit

Cook freshPicklingSalting

Wood blewit

Cook freshPicklingDrying
Size

Flowery blewit

Medium (5–15 cm)

Wood blewit

Medium (5–15 cm)
Cap color

Flowery blewit

CreamPinkWhite

Wood blewit

VioletBrown
Cap shape

Flowery blewit

Convex

Wood blewit

Convex
Cap surface

Flowery blewit

Smooth

Wood blewit

Smooth
Taste

Flowery blewit

Sweet

Wood blewit

Mild
Smell

Flowery blewit

Pleasant

Wood blewit

Pleasant
Flesh color change

Flowery blewit

No change

Wood blewit

No change
Hymenophore

Flowery blewit

Gilled

Wood blewit

Gilled
Stem

Flowery blewit

Central

Wood blewit

Central
Ring (veil)

Flowery blewit

No ring

Wood blewit

No ring
Volva

Flowery blewit

No volva

Wood blewit

No volva
Substrate

Flowery blewit

SoilForest litter

Wood blewit

Forest litterSoil
Nutrition type

Flowery blewit

Saprotroph

Wood blewit

Saprotroph
Partner trees

Flowery blewit

OakBeechHornbeamBirch

Wood blewit

OakBeechPineSpruce

📅 Seasonality

Flowery blewit

Fruiting season

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

September – November

Wood blewit

Fruiting season

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

September – December

🔬 Morphology

Cap

Flowery blewit

Cap 5-12 cm across, hemispherical to convex with an inrolled margin when young, later flattening out with a thin wavy margin. Color cream, pale pinkish, with a silky matte sheen, slightly darker in wet weather. No distinct violet tones. Surface smooth, margin often wavy.

Wood blewit

Cap 5-15 cm across, when young convex with an inrolled margin, becoming with age flat and spreading. The cap skin is smooth, slightly slimy in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather. Color vivid violet or lilac-violet when young, less often with a pink tint; with age it fades to brownish-violet, then to brownish-cream with violet traces at the margin. The margin is even, inrolled when young.

Hymenophore

Flowery blewit

Gilled hymenophore. Gills crowded, thin, notched at the stem, easily detached. Color whitish to pale pinkish when young, pale pink to cream with age. Spore print pale pinkish-cream (typical of the genus Lepista).

Wood blewit

Gilled hymenophore — the gills are adnate or slightly decurrent, very crowded, thin. Color distinctly violet-lilac when young, brownish-violet to brownish-cream with age, with a greenish-pink tint when mature. Spore print pale pink to creamy pink — characteristic of the genus Lepista.

Stem

Flowery blewit

Stem sturdy: 5-10 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical, thickened toward the base. Color white to cream, with no violet tint (which sets it apart from the field blewit and the wood blewit). Surface lengthwise fibrous, with whitish mycelial down at the base. No ring.

Wood blewit

Stem 5-10 cm tall, 1.5-3 cm thick, firm, fleshy, cylindrical, thickening toward the base. Color violet to lilac-violet, often paler lower down, with whitish mycelium at the base. The surface is smooth with fine lengthwise fibers. No ring.

Flesh

Flowery blewit

Flesh thick, white to cream, dense, meaty when young. Does not change color when cut. Has a pleasant fruity, perfumed aroma.

Wood blewit

Flesh firm; thin in the cap, thick in the stem, violet-whitish to pale lilac. Doesn't change color when cut or slowly fades to grayish-violet. Smell pleasant, sweetish and perfumed, reminiscent of lilac or violet, with a hint of anise, taste sweet at first, then mildly mushroomy.

Smell

Flowery blewit

Strong, fruity and perfumed, described as "fresh violets", "talcum powder" or ripe fruit — typical of the genus Lepista, but more pronounced and complex than in L. nuda. One of the most memorable scents of the late-autumn forest. Taste mild, delicate.

Wood blewit

A distinct, pleasant, sweetish-perfumed smell — reminiscent of lilac, violet or a touch of anise. A helpful clue, but not a decisive one: the violet webcap smells faintly of cedar, and some lilac webcaps (Cortinarius camphoratus, C. traganus) smell strong and unpleasant. So check the smell together with the spore print colour.

📍 Habitats

Flowery blewit

Deciduous forestMixed forest

Wood blewit

Deciduous forestConifer forestMixed forest

👀 Similar mushrooms — don't mix them up!

❓ Frequently asked questions

Can Flowery blewit and Wood blewit be mixed up?
Yes, they look so similar that people often mix them up. The use, cap color, taste help tell them apart.
How to tell Flowery blewit from Wood blewit?
The main differences: use: Flowery blewit — cook fresh, pickling, salting, Wood blewit — cook fresh, pickling, drying; cap color: Flowery blewit — cream, pink, white, Wood blewit — violet, brown; taste: Flowery blewit — sweet, Wood blewit — mild. As for edibility: Flowery blewit is edible, Wood blewit is conditionally edible. The full table of characteristics is higher up on this page.
Is Wood blewit edible?
Wood blewit — conditionally edible.
When do Flowery blewit and Wood blewit grow?
Flowery blewit — September–November; Wood blewit — September–December.

Sources

  • [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
  • [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
  • [3]MycoBank Database
  • [4]Index Fungorum
  • [5]GBIF
  • [6]iNaturalist Ukraine