The largest Laccaria in eastern North America, with a lilac-brown to buff cap, thick dark purple gills and a tall, coarse, fibrous stem. Its spores are white, which separates it from purple-gilled Cortinarius species. It grows with oaks, beech and pines.
Edible (Wikipedia). Dangerous look-alikes are Cortinarius species such as C. torvus and C. lucorum, which have a cobwebby veil over young gills, rusty-brown spore prints and gills that turn rusty brown; some Cortinarius are seriously toxic. Confirm a white spore print. Discard specimens attacked by the greenish mold that often parasitizes it.
Help build this page
This page grows with the community. Here is what it is still missing:
Photos. None yet — moderators review each photo before it appears.Sign in to add a photo
Sightings. Spotted it in the wild? Add it to the map.Open the map
Strains. No public strains of this species on WeMush yet.
Track Your Own Purple-gilled Laccaria Grows
Join WeMush to log cultivation data, discover strains, and connect with fellow growers.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Habitat
Ectomycorrhizal with hardwoods and conifers, especially oaks and beech, and frequent in young eastern white pine plantations; alone, scattered or gregarious; late summer and fall (July-October).
Distribution
Eastern North America, east of the Rocky Mountains.
Characteristics
Cap: 3.5-12 cm, broadly convex becoming flat or uplifted, often depressed; light lilac-brown becoming light brown, fading to buff or nearly white; nearly smooth or finely hairy-scaly. Gills: attached, rarely decurrent, nearly distant or close, thick, waxy, dark purple. Stem: 4.5-19 cm long, 0.5-2.5 cm thick, coarsely hairy or scaly, colored like the cap, with lilac basal mycelium, solid. Odor and taste: not distinctive. Spore print: white. Spores: 7-9 x 7-9 um, subglobose to globose, with spines 1-2 um long (MushroomExpert).
