Lepista nuda
Clitocybe nuda (also recognized as Lepista nuda and Tricholoma nudum) is a fairly distinctive mushroom, with a colour range from lilac to purple-pink. Some North American specimens are duller and tend toward tan, but usually have purplish tones on the stem and gills. The gills are attached to the short, stout stem. Mature specimens have a darker colour and flatter cap; younger ones are lighter with more convex caps. The cap can grow to up to 16 cm. C. nuda can easily be distinguished by their odour, as well as by their spore print which is light (white to pale pink); whereas Cortinarius species produce a rusty brown spore print after several hours on white paper. (Fig. 1)
Common names: Wood blewit, Blewitts, Blue stalk mushroom (English) and Hed chong ko (Thailand and Laos).
Use: An edible mushroom, however they are known to cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals and also contain antimicrobial compounds.
Time of fruiting: This species can be found in middle of the rainy season from June to July in Thailand.
Habitat: Solitary and scattered or in clusters in rich humus solid, decaying leaf litter.
Distribution: This species has been found in northern Europe, North America, Australia, China, Laos and Thailand.
Fig. 1 The basidiomata of Lepista nuda in the field.
Reference
Mortimer P. E., X J., Karunarathna S. C. & Hyde K. D. 2014–Mushrooms for trees and people: a field guide to useful mushrooms of the Mekong region. Kunming: The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
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