These have me stumped

[ChefsWild]

Not milky and not crumbly, not staining. Found under mixed hardwood in a leaf pile.

[Dave W]

Looks like Blewits. Faded specimens often lose virtually all of the purple color. Or possibly some other Lepista species. There are one or two large types --arguably different species than L. nuda-- that occur in fields. Lepistas have pale fleshy-pink spore prints. Subtle print color best observed on white background.

Blewits are an excellent edible, as long as they're well cooked. Great on pizza, or in mac and cheese, with chicken, grains, in bechamel sauce, mixed with chanterelles, mixed with morels, I dry sliced ones and add to chicken stuffing or chicken soup.

Be certain of the ID proposal. take a spore print. If you end up throwing these out, there'll probably be more in a few days. They tend to keep coming in a spot as long as conditions don't sour.

Some people have reported digestive issues after eating Lepista nuda.

[ChefsWild]

The spores were thick on the leaf litter and appeared white.

[Dave W]

To see the difference between the color of a Lepista print and the color white, the print should be collected on a white background. If the print collects onto a colored background, it will appear to be white.

Odor of L. nuda is musky, pleasant. Older specimens either lose some of the fragrance, or the odor becomes a bi more pungent.

[ChefsWild]

Huh. On a white paper towel at home, the spores were orangeish-brown after, but ALL around the specimens in the leaf pile, there was a thick white carpet of spores that I smudged on my finger - definitely white. They smell pleasant, slightly anise-like, and taste nice (I nibbled a tiny bit and spat).

Not eating any of it without a better ID, though - the orangey-brown spore print doesn't bode well.

[Dave W]

Paper towel is not the best medium for interpreting a spore print, because it's intentionally designed to absorb moisture. Combined with moisture, the print will appear darker than normal, partly because the moisture that leeches out of the mushroom is more than just water.

A glossy white page from a magazine is better. Best is a piece of pure white plastic. Some people like to use aluminum foil, but I'm not sure about this medium showing the off-white subtleties (I have never used foil).

Good policy to do the work to arrive at a sound understanding of a potential edible mushroom before sampling even a tiny piece. Aside from a few easy ones --like the nice Hen you recently posted-- the first few collections of a supposed edible likely end up on the compost pile, because they are analyzed/studied and not eaten. Through the years I have repeated this type of exercise many times, sometimes discarding several collections before finally trying a bit after having convinced myself that I have learned to recognize the particular type of mushroom.

[ChefsWild]

Sound advice! I only taste a tiny <1g amount and spit it out as a sensory identification; I don't think even a deadly one is likely to cause issues at that? Though one did cause quite a burning sensation.

I agree, no solid ID, no eat.

[RaffD]

Could this be L. Irina as per our previous discussion Dave? An aging specimen becoming beige/tan? Pink-buff is often confused for 'orange' or yellow on white as per light-colour theory and depending on the lighting present in the room or outside. The bulbous base is consistent with observations I've made in field ids for this proposal. my proposals for L.Irina all smelled pleasant as well ChefsWild. I've noticed that the shape of blewits and what seem to be L. Irina are very similar (bulbous stalk , convex to flat cap, wavy margins)

[Dave W]

From what I've read, L. irina seems to be more common in northern latitudes of North America. In my experience, this type is uncommon here in PA. The ones seen in this thread look a bit on the dark (tan) side for L. irina. It's very common for Blewits to fade to a buff/tan color, especially in dry weather. There are also a few other robust Lepistas... L. saeva, L. glaucocana.