Sordid Blewit - Lepista sordida

Sordid Blewit - Lepista sordida

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Edible mushroom - intermediate

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Other common names: Sordid Blewit, Dirty Blewit

 

Scientific name meaning: Lepista is Latin for Goblet, and Sordida is from the Latin Sordidus, meaning foul or dirty

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Season - when will I find it? From Summer to Winter
 

Habitat - where will I find it? The Sordid Blewit is found most often in leaf litter and compost heaps

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Description - what does it look like? 

Growth: The Sordid Blewit is a saprobic mushroom living on leaf litter or compost heaps. It can be found individually and in small groups, and has been reported to grow in rings 

Cap: The thin-fleshed cap is violet, 3-8cm wide, and turns tan brown from the centre as it ages or dries. It starts off convex, often with an umbo (bump) and flattens with age. The edge of the cap often ends up slightly wavy and depresses in the centre

Gills: Lilac in colour and fading to buff with age. The crowded gills are either emarginate or sinuate (attached to the stem at the very top of the gills but with a little notch before the attachment) 

Flesh: Lilac and browning with age

Stem: The fibrous stem is lilac in colour and 0.5-0.8cm wide. It can reach 5-6cm tall and is downy. There is no stem ring/skirt and the base of the stem is very downy

Smell: Perfumed/floral

Spore colour: Pale cream to pale pink

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Possible lookalikes Could be confused with Mycena pura/rosea, but these smell of radish and have white gills. Could also be confused with purple Cortinarius species, but these have sturdier stems and rust browns spores that can often be seen on the weblike cortina remains on the stem. Also could be confused with the deadly poisonous Lilac Fibrecap (Inocybe geophylla var. lilacina), but this has buff gills that turn clay-brown with age.

The Wood Blewit (Lepista nuda) is very simiar and grows in the same habitat. However, this is also edible. It is slightly more robust with a thicker stem and thicker cap flesh

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Use as a food Must be cooked and can be used exactly as a cultivated mushroom. It has a strong fragrant flavour, so works well with cream/cream substitutes

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Use in herbal medicine None known

If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner

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Hazards This mushroom can grow on roadside grass verges where it can accumulate traffic-related toxins. It is advisable to avoid harvesting from the sides of busy roads

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Importance to other species Provides food for a the larvae of a number of fly species. Worth remembering when harvesting. Younger specimens tend to have less livestock inside!

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Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!