Field blewitCollybia personata
Expert-verifiedUpdated October 3, 2026
Passport
- Edibility
- Edible
- Season
- Oct — Nov
- Hymenophore
- Gilled
- Cap color
- Cream
- Size
- Medium (5–15 cm)
- Smell
- Pleasant
- Reviewed
- Yes ✓
Quick answers
Where to look?
Deciduous forest, Mixed forest
When does it appear?
Oct — Nov
Active months: October, November.
How to recognize it? Three signs
- Cap color: Cream, Grey, Brown
- Cap shape: Convex
- Smell: Pleasant
Fruiting season
October – November
Description
Field blewit (Lepista personata, in some sources Lepista saeva) — a close relative of the wood blewit, with the same lilac-violet tones on the stem and the characteristic fruity, perfumed aroma. The cap is grayish-cream to grayish-brown with no violet tint, but the stem is an intense lilac-violet, which earned it its Ukrainian folk name, meaning "lilac-footed". One of the best edible mushrooms of late autumn, valued in European cuisines for its dense, meaty flesh and pronounced aroma.
This is a good edible mushroom with a clear culinary reputation. Young ones are best for cooking: dense flesh, an intense fruity, perfumed aroma, and they hold their shape well in the pan. It is cooked after a short 10-minute boil in salted water (as with all Lepista — to prevent mild irritation in some people). Classic ways to serve it: fried with onions and cream, in sauces for meat, in soups, salted. One of the favorite late-autumn mushrooms in Carpathian and Polissian culinary traditions.
In Ukraine it occurs in the forest-steppe and forest zones: in meadows, at forest edges, in gardens, parks, and dacha (summer cottage) plots. A saprotroph tied to cultivated grassy areas. Season October-November, peaking in late October — early November. It often grows in groups of 10-30 fruiting bodies, sometimes in rings. It tolerates the first light frosts — one of the latest mushrooms of the season to appear in numbers, fruiting after the main flush is already over.
Cap
Cap 5-12 cm across, hemispherical to convex with an inrolled margin when young, later flattening out with a broad, low hump at the center. Color grayish-cream, grayish-brown, with a pale lilac tint when young, fading to dingy cream with age. Surface silky-matte, smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather.
Hymenophore
Gilled hymenophore. Gills crowded, thin, notched at the stem, easily detached. Color whitish to pale cream when young, creamy-ochre with age. Spore print pale pinkish-cream (typical of the genus Lepista).
Stem
Stem sturdy: 4-8 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical or slightly thickened toward the base. The key feature is an intense lilac-violet color, especially in the lower part of the stem. Paler toward the top, down to dingy cream. Surface lengthwise fibrous, with whitish mycelial down at the very base. No ring.
Flesh
Flesh thick, white, dense, meaty. Does not change color when cut. Has a pleasant fruity, perfumed aroma.
Smell
Pleasant, fruity and perfumed, with a note of ripe fruit — typical of the genus Lepista. One of the most distinctive and recognizable scents of the late-autumn forest. Taste mild, delicate.
›Scientific synonyms (15)
Lepista saeva, Clitocybe saeva, Tricholoma amethystinum, Tricholoma personatum, Tricholoma personatum f. minor, Tricholoma personatum var. anserina, Tricholoma personatum var. saevum, Tricholoma saevum, Rhodopaxillus personatus, Rhodopaxillus saevus, Agaricus anserinus, Agaricus personatus β saevus, Lepista personata, Lepista personata (Fr.) Cooke, Lepista saeva (Fr.) P.D. Orton
Lookalikes
Related species
Mushrooms of the same genus and habitat — to study side by side and never mix up.
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Booted knight
Tricholoma focale
Charbonnier
Tricholoma portentosum
Giant knight
Tricholoma colossus
Grey knight
Рядовка наземна
Matt knight
Tricholoma imbricatum
Plums and custard
Рядовка червона
Plums and custard
Tricholomopsis rutilans
Poplar knight
Рядовка тополева
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to eat?
Yes, this is a good edible mushroom. There are no seriously poisonous lookalikes with the same combination (gray cap + lilac stem + fruity aroma). It's recommended to boil it for 10 minutes before cooking — in some people raw or undercooked flesh causes mild stomach discomfort.
How should you cook it?
Clean and slice. Boil for 10 minutes in salted water and discard the water. Then fry with onions and cream (the classic way), stew with potatoes, or add to soups. It pickles and salts well — the dense flesh holds its shape in the jar. Drying is possible but less common.
Can you give it to children?
From age 4-5, in small portions as part of cooked dishes (stew, sauce, soup). A mushroom with a clear reputation and no serious caveats. Always cook it with a preliminary boil. Children under 3 should not be given any mushrooms at all.
Where should you look for it?
In meadows, at forest edges, in gardens, parks, dacha plots, and cultivated grassy areas with fertile soil. It often grows in groups of 10-30 fruiting bodies, sometimes in rings. Less often deep in wild forests. The best finds are at the edges of planted shelterbelts and in the parks of big cities.
Which regions of Ukraine is it found in?
Throughout the forest-steppe zone: Podillia, and the Kyiv, Poltava and Kharkiv regions. Less often in the Carpathians and Polissia. In the steppe — in parks and public gardens. Uncommon in the wild overall, but abundant in cultivated landscapes.
When should you look for it?
October — November, peaking in late October — early November. One of the latest mushrooms to appear in numbers — it fruits after chanterelles, porcini and honey fungus are finished. It tolerates the first light frosts. In a warm November you can find it until mid-month.
What is it confused with?
With the wood blewit (Lepista nuda) — a close relative, also edible; it has a violet tone in the cap too, not just in the stem. With the sordid blewit (L. sordida) — smaller, lilac-gray. All Lepista are edible. Among the potentially dangerous: the genus Cortinarius has violet-stemmed species, but they have a cobwebby veil on the stem and a brown spore print. Lepista has no veil, and its spore print is pinkish-cream.
How can you identify it for sure?
Four features together: (1) grayish-cream cap (not violet); (2) lilac-violet stem; (3) a distinct fruity and perfumed aroma; (4) growing in late autumn in meadows and at forest edges. If all four match, it's Lepista personata. The contrast between cap and stem (gray + violet) is what makes it most recognizable.
Is Field blewit edible or poisonous?
Does Field blewit have gills or pores?
What does the cap of Field blewit look like?
What does the stem of Field blewit look like?
Sources
- [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [3]MycoBank Database
- [4]Index Fungorum
- [5]GBIF
- [6]iNaturalist Ukraine