Amethyst Deceiver
Laccaria amethystina · Hydnangiaceae
A small brilliant violet mushroom of leaf litter, edible but slight and known to take up arsenic.
Edible. It accumulates arsenic from the soil, so eat only in small quantities and not from roadsides or contaminated ground.
Read the full foraging safety guidance.
Season
August to November
Where it grows
- Broadleaf woodland
- Beech leaf litter
- Mossy ground
Identification
- Cap
- 1-5cm, deep amethyst-violet, drying out much paler and buff, slightly scurfy.
- Gills / pores
- Thick, widely spaced, deep violet, dusted white with spores.
- Stem
- Slender, fibrous, violet, tough.
- Flesh
- Thin, violet.
- Spore print
- White.
- Smell & taste
- Little.
Lookalikes
Lilac Cortinarius and Mycea species: check the white spore print and thick widely spaced gills.
In the kitchen
Pretty as a garnish. Keeps its colour if cooked briefly.
Also edible
Penny Bun
Boletus edulis
The most sought-after wild mushroom in Britain: nutty, firm and richly scented, with a pale bun-like cap and a fat netted stem.
Chanterelle
Cantharellus cibarius
Egg-yolk yellow, trumpet-shaped and smelling faintly of apricots. One of the safest and finest edibles once learned.
Field Mushroom
Agaricus campestris
The classic mushroom of unimproved pasture: white cap, pink gills darkening to brown, and a clean mushroomy smell.