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Laccaria amethystina [ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Hydnangiaceae > Laccaria . . . ] by Michael Kuo This little mushroom is easily recognized: it has thick purple gills, a white spore print, and a small cap that is initially purplish but soon fades to buff or brownish. It is found east of the Rocky Mountains. For a similar mushroom found west of the Rockies, see Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis. Laccaria amethystina may look like a little like a small Cortinarius in the subgenus Seriocybe, but those mushrooms have a cortina covering the young gills, and rusty brown spore prints (consequently, the gills in mature specimens are also rusty brown). Description: Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods (especially partial to oak and beech); growing alone or scattered; summer; widely disributed east of the Rocky Mountains. Cap: .5-3.5 cm; broadly convex to flat; often with a central depression; the margin even or inrolled, not lined or lined; nearly smooth or finely hairy-scaly; bright grayish purple, fading to buff; changing color markedly as it dries out (often resulting in "two-toned" specimens). Gills: Attached to the stem, or rarely running down the length of the stem; distant or nearly so; thick; waxy; dark purple or colored like the cap. Stem: 1-7 cm long; 1-7 mm thick; equal or slightly swollen at the base; coarsely hairy or scaly; colored like the cap; with lilac to whitish basal mycelium. Flesh: Insubstantial; colored like the cap or paler. Taste: Mild; odor mild. Spore Print: White. Microscopic Features: Spores 7-10 x 7-10 µ; round; ornamented with spines 1.5-3 µ long and over 1 µ wide at their bases. Basidia 4-spored, rarely 2-spored. Laccaria amethystea is a synonym. Though there is a debate among mycologists about which of the two names is correct, the species itself remains stable. The name Laccaria amethystina was previously applied, on the West Coast, to Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis, but that species has broadly elliptical, rather than round, spores. REFERENCES: (Bulliard ex Merat) Murrill, 1914. (Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Metzler & Metzler, 1992; Bessette, Miller, Bessette & Miller, 1995; Mueller, 1997; Barron, 1999.) Herb. Kuo 06129605, 08270207. Further Online Information: Laccaria amethystina at Mueller's Laccaria |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2002, August). Laccaria amethystina. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/laccaria_amethystina.html |