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Species Information
Summary: Lepista nuda is identified by its stout stature, purple to bluish-purple color, inrolled cap margin when young, absence of veil, faintly fruity fragrance and dull pinkish spore deposit, (Arora). It is common in the Pacific Northwest.
Collections were examined from OR, WA, QC, CA, CO, CT, MA, MD, MI, TN, VA, VT, and Norway, (Bigelow(5)). It is frequent on foray lists from BC, and has been reported from Mexico (in Bigelow(5)), Europe, Asia, North Africa, and Australia, (Breitenbach(3)). The University of British Columbia has collections from BC and NB. The University of New Brunswick has collections from WA, OR, ID, ON, AK, MS, NY, and WY.
Cap: 4-14(18)cm across, convex with inrolled margin at first, becoming broadly umbonate to flat, or with uplifted often wavy margin; "purple, or purple shaded with brown or gray when fresh, soon fading to brownish, flesh-color, tan, etc., but the margin often retaining purple tones well into maturity"; "smooth, lubricous when moist but not viscid", may be lustrous when dry, (Arora), 4-12(15)cm across, broadly convex at first with inrolled margin, becoming flat, occasionally with low broad umbo, margin at times uplifted, wavy, or irregular; hygrophanous, shades of violet when fresh and moist, soon fading on disc to "vinaceous buff", "pale vinaceous fawn", when old mostly "cinnamon buff" overall with only a slight violaceous tint at margin; bald, smooth, watery appearing when fresh, at times lubricous or subviscid, finally dull and dry, disc often appearing areolate [cracked like dried mud], margin often faintly short translucent-striate when moist, (Bigelow)
Flesh: thick, rather soft; purplish to lilac-buff, (Arora), "moderately thick to thick, soft and pliant, watery at first"; dull lilac to lilac buff, finally whitish, in stem tinted "pale vinaceous fawn", (Bigelow)
Gills: adnate to adnexed or notched or sometimes decurrent, close; purple or pale purple to bluish purple or grayish purple, fading to buff, pinkish buff or brownish, (Arora), "adnexed to sinuate or rounded, broadly adnate to subdecurrent at times, close to crowded, narrow", 0.4-0.8cm broad; pale violet, buff to brownish when old; edges even or uneven, (Bigelow)
Stem: 2.5-7(10)cm x 1-2.5(3)cm at top, equal or more often with widened base; purple to pale purple or colored like gills; dry, fibrillose, "base often covered with downy purple mycelium", (Arora), 3-6(10)cm x 1-2.5(3)cm, solid, usually relatively short, equal or base somewhat club-shaped to bulbous, marginate at times; ground color pale violet like gills ("deep dull lavender"), bruising "dark lavender", when old browning from the base upward; fibrillose to scurfy at top, striate with whitish fibrils in lower part, (Bigelow)
scattered to gregarious, often in rings or arcs - "in woods, brush, gardens, compost piles, i.e., wherever there is organic debris", (Arora), single, gregarious or cespitose [in tufts], in humus under hardwoods, under conifers, on decaying vegetable matter or near trash piles and compost heaps, in meadows, on lawns, in orchards; late summer and fall, (Bigelow), spring, summer, fall, winter, (Buczacki)
Similar Species
Lepista tarda is smaller with a thinner, fibrous stem and more lilac color. Lepista glaucocana never has the deep violet tones of L. nuda but overmature or faded specimens may be impossible to separate, (Bigelow(5)). Cortinarius species and Inocybe pallidicremea have brown spores. Mycena pura is small and slender, with white spores. Some Laccarias have purplish colors, but they have long tough fibrous stems. Some Entoloma and Leptonia species may be similar - the colors in these cases are more often bluish than purple, and stems of Leptonia species are proportionately longer and thinner. See also SIMILAR section of Cortinarius alboviolaceus, Cortinarius glaucopus, Cortinarius glaucopus group, Entoloma sinuatum, Lepista irina var. irina, Lepista irina var. luteospora, and Lepista saeva.
