Lepiota lilacea

[ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Agaricaceae > Lepiota . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This small Lepiota has a distinctive ring, which features a dark underside. Its stem is pink or lilac, and the cap color ranges from purplish to brown. Since there are several similar species--including the more commonly encountered Lepiota cristata--microscopic features should be verified for positive identification; Lepiota lilacea has a hymeniform pileipellis and elliptical spores 4-6 µ long.

I have no information on the edibility of Lepiota lilacea; do not experiment.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; found in gardens and urban settings; North American distribution uncertain (I find online herbarium records of collections made in Michigan; the illustrated collection was made in Denver, in August) but perhaps to be expected in urban settings across the continent.

Cap: 2-3.5 cm; convex, becoming broadly convex to broadly bell-shaped; dry; by maturity with a purple-brown to dark brown center and elsewhere with similarly colored scales over a whitish to pinkish ground color.

Gills: Free from the stem; white; close.

Stem: 4-6 cm long; up to 6 mm thick; more or less equal; fairly smooth; pinkish to purplish when fresh; with a persisting, sheathing ring that features a brown underside.

Flesh: White; thin.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 4-6 x 2-3 µ; smooth; elliptical. Pileipellis hymeniform (scalp-section the disc).

REFERENCES: Bresadola, 1892. (Saccardo, 1895; Kauffman, 1924; Moser, 1983; Hansen & Knudsen, 1992; Vellinga, 1998; Vellinga, 2003.) Herb. Kuo 08120702.

Pileipellis

Spores

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Kuo, M. (2007, October). Lepiota lilacea. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lepiota_lilacea.html