Toxic
White Fibercap
Inocybe geophylla
The lilac form of this Inocybe has a silky, conical cap with a pointed center, crowded gills that turn grayish brown, and a brown spore print. It contains muscarine.
Amethyst Deceiver
Laccaria amethystina
Edible
Also called amethyst laccaria.
The amethyst deceiver is a small, deep purple mushroom of forest floors. It gets its name from how much it fades: dry specimens turn buff or pale lilac and look like a different species. Its small purple lookalikes include toxic fibercaps and bonnets.
The tell
A small, entirely purple mushroom with thick, widely spaced gills and a white spore print.
Field marks
What to look at
Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.
- Cap
- Convex, flattening and often dimpled at the center, 0.5 to 2 inches across. Deep purple when moist, drying from the center outward to buff or pale lilac. Surface finely scurfy.
- Underside
- Gills attached or running slightly down the stem, thick, waxy-looking and widely spaced. Purple, fading less than the cap.
- Stem
- Slender, tough and fibrous, purple, with fine lengthwise fibers and lilac or whitish fuzz at the base.
- Flesh
- Thin, purplish. Smell and taste mild.
- Spore print
- White.
- Size
- Cap 0.5 to 2 inches (1 to 5 cm); stem 1.5 to 4 inches (4 to 10 cm) tall.
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- On the ground in hardwood and mixed forests, forming partnerships with beech, oak and conifers. Often in moss or leaf litter.
- Grows on
- Soil and leaf litter near the roots of host trees.
- Season
- Summer through fall.
- Range
- Eastern North America; a closely related purple Laccaria replaces it along the Pacific Coast.
Lookalikes
What the amethyst deceiver gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
Lilac bonnet (Mycena pura)
The lilac bonnet has a brittle stem, crowded gills, and a distinct radish smell. It contains muscarine.
LookalikeViolet Webcap
Cortinarius violaceus
Much larger and darker, with a finely scaly cap, a cobweb veil when young, and a rusty brown spore print.
Edible when cookedBlewit
Lepista nuda
Larger and stockier, with crowded gills and a pale pinkish-buff spore print.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Edible
Field guides list the amethyst deceiver as edible. Its small size and its resemblance to purple Inocybe and Mycena species, which contain muscarine, are why guides stress the thick, widely spaced gills and white spore print.
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
FAQ
Questions about the amethyst deceiver
Why is it called the amethyst deceiver?
Because it changes color as it dries. A fresh, moist specimen is deep amethyst purple, but the cap fades to buff or pale lilac in dry weather, making it look like a different mushroom.
Is the amethyst deceiver poisonous?
Field guides list it as edible. It resembles some small purple mushrooms that contain muscarine, including the lilac form of the white fibercap and the lilac bonnet.
Where does the amethyst deceiver grow?
On the ground in hardwood and mixed forests of eastern North America, often in moss or leaf litter under beech and oak, from summer through fall.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Laccaria amethystina
MushroomExpert.com
- Laccaria amethystina
Index Fungorum
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