Thaxterogaster purpurascens (Fr.) Niskanen & Liimat.

About Thaxterogaster purpurascens (Fr.) Niskanen & Liimat.

The cap of Thaxterogaster purpurascens measures 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) in diameter. It starts convex before flattening out somewhat with age. The cap margin is rolled inward and viscid. The cap cuticle is often slightly spotted, smooth, and carries small short-lived, viscid, color-matched flaky flecks. Cap color ranges from dirty brownish or brownish-rust to ocher or grayish bluish toward the cap center. The margin is covered in roughly parallel threadlike filaments (fibrillose) before becoming smooth. It has a violet, reddish-violet, or grayish-brown tinge when young, before matching the color of the cap center. The gills are thin, closely crowded, and broadly notched (emarginate). They are dark violet when young, and their edges are often finely toothed (denticulate). The violet hue and intensity of the gills matches that of the wood blewitt, Collybia nuda. The stem is solid, with a vivid violet color that pales to violet purple or violet brown. It has a distinctively edged bulb 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) wide, and is almost cylindrical from the bulb toward the base. The cortina, a cobweb-like partial veil made of silky fibrils, is violet. The flesh is violet lilac or violet, and pales slightly when the mushroom matures. It has a weak, unpleasant smell and a mild taste. When cut or broken, the flesh turns purple, just like the gills. This is a medium-quality edible mushroom. The spores are ellipsoid, slightly almond-shaped, and covered with small warts (verrucose), measuring 9–10 by 4.8–6 μm. The spore-bearing basidia measure 30–35 by 7–9 μm. Thin-walled, irregularly bottle-shaped cheilocystidia on the gill edge protrude 20–30 μm from the surface. The spore deposit ranges in color from brownish rust to light brown. Fruit bodies of Thaxterogaster purpurascens grow in groups in coniferous forests, mainly on more acidic soils, and are quite rare. The species is distributed across the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, and has been collected in Europe and North America.