Deceiver - Laccaria lacatta

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Edible mushroom - intermediate Season - summer to autumn ​ Common names deceiver, waxy deceiver

Scientific name meaning: Laccaria and laccata come from the Greek Lakkos, meaning a hole or pit - fruit bodies in this genus of have a hole in the centre of the cap

Habitat

A mycorrhizal fungus growing with deciduous and coniferous trees.

Overall structure and growth

The shape of these small mushrooms is extremely variable, thus their common name. All parts of the mushroom can be found twisted into various forms. It is most often found in large numbers of scattered fruit bodies.

Cap

The caps are 2-7cm wide and start off convex. They flatten somewhat with age and often have waves, sometimes they have a central depression. They are orange-brown to pink-red-brown and appear darker when wet.

Gills and spores

Tan to dark beige when young, paling to buff with age. They are thick, widely spaced and interspersed with short gills from the cap's outer edge. The gills are adnate (broadly attached to the stem) to slightly decurrent (running down the stem). The spores are white.

Stem

Fibrous and often twisted and hollow, the tan/orange-brown stem is often hairy towards its base. It is usually 0.5 to 1cm wide, but can reach 5 to 10cm in height. Has no skirt or ring.

​Flesh, smell and taste

The flesh is tan-brown to orange, and the stem hollow is clear in cross-section. It has a smell similar to natural rubber and in indistinct, mild taste.

​Possible lookalikes

Could be confused with with lots of small brown mushrooms, thus being an intermediate mushroom for identification. Careful attention needs to be paid to gill spacing and stem shape in order to eliminate other species. Can easily be confused with other deceivers |(Laccaria spp), such as the scurfy deceiver (Laccaria proxima), pictured, all of which are edible.

Use as a food Must be cooked and can be used exactly as a cultivated mushroom. It has a rich meaty flavour ​ Hazards Bioaccumulates arsenic particularly well, so ensure sites that it is harvested from do not have contaminated soil. This is of particular importance in areas where there have been mining activities

Use in herbal medicine and medicine Has been shown to inhibit the growth of some sarcoma and carcinomas under laboratory conditions If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner ​ Other uses None known ​ Importance to other species Provides food for a the larvae of a number of fly species

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!

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