Aelios Posted October 23, 2020 Report Share Posted October 23, 2020 Found some new mushroom clusters in my yard today that may be a type of blewit as they have some similarities. Cap: Tannish-white with some translucency around the outer edge. Diameter: almost 5-inches across Gills: narrowly attached Stem: large bulging base Scent: Smells like Blewit (Orange Juice concentrate) Sporeprint: in progress... Location: In wood-chips, Central East Coast USA Odd: Several have unusual shapes on the caps, which at first may be thought that mushroom was simply growing around a stick (But There Were No Sticks When I Found Them!). Plus one of the shapes looks kind of like a mushroom growing out of the top of the main mushroom (see top right pic) Note: the mushroom in the bottom left was catching some extra light, that's why its so bright white. So the smell, shape (though these are bigger), translucent edge, and bulging base remind me of Wood Bluwet (Clitocybe nuda), BUT It's Not Purple. FYI: purple Blewits have grown about 100+ft from these a couple weeks ago. Any hints? Thanks! Maybe Lepista irina? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted October 24, 2020 Report Share Posted October 24, 2020 Lepista seems to occasionally produce weird fruit bodies. I've included a photo of a Blewit where a small mushroom is growing atop a larger one. I have also seen what looks like an inverted stalkless cap protruding from an upright cap. Aelios, I think your mushrooms are probably faded Blewits (L. nuda). L. irina is a woodland species that produces mushrooms that are pretty-much white. There are a few other relatively uncommon species of Lepista that produce pale tannish mushrooms. I think the woodchip habitat favors L. nuda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MushroomGuru Posted October 24, 2020 Report Share Posted October 24, 2020 I concur with Dave. Blewits can produce some strange fruiting bodies, as is true of many if not almost all mushroom species. Growing conditions, including humidity,light,age, rain, ect, all can change the appearance from the "so called" norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelios Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Thanks for your thoughts. Well I spotted some more small & purple blewits in another area of my yard (which is entirely covered in wood chips btw) 😄 I'm curious to see if I can spot one of my large blewits when its still small and see if it starts off purple. I just thought the large blewits may be a different species since even the smallest one among then (see bottom-left pic) was whitish/tan and not like the other little purple ones I'd found not far away. Also I looked closely at the funny shaped mushroom (top-right pic) with the little mushroom growth on top and the growth actually has some gills too! It really is a little one growing on a big one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 There are other species of Lepista that closely resemble L. nuda, but generally do not show much purple/lilac. On the other hand, L. nuda is known to produce very pale fruit bodies. Through the years I've encountered a fair amount of confusion regarding the classification of Lepista mushrooms. The one feature that seems constant within this genus is the pale fleshy/pinkish/peachy spore print. As long as you know you have Lepistas, there not much chance the mushrooms are toxic. Some people don't like the flavor of one or another Lepista species. IMO, L. subconnexa has a rather unpleasant taste (the ones discussed within this thread are not L. subconnexa). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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