Mushroom Muses - the Amethyst Deceiver
/As we walked through Harpsden Wood one autumn morning the sunlight chanced upon this beautiful Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystea). Pummelling upward through the leaf litter, this stunning deep violet mushroom makes a magical sight. Poetry to the eyes, and as we crunched down among the leaves for a closer look this mysterious pretty-in-purple got us musing...
Amethyst Deceiver
Photo by: Sarah J Bryson
A hidden gem on woodland floor
Purple among bronzed leaves
Inconspicuous to passers by
Blind to its reverential awe
This amethyst beauty deceives
Unnoticed by the passers by
Harpsden Wood
Harpsden Wood is situated on the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills near Henley on Thames. Owned and managed by the Woodland Trust, it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and over 170 species of fungi have been recorded here! The wood is a magical place to walk throughout the year but it is autumn when then the fungi are fantastic.
Pretty-in-Purple
The beautifully named amethyst deceiver mushroom is widespread across Britain and grows amongst the leaf litter in all types of woodland and often associates with oak and beech.
The whole mushroom – cap, gills and stem – is vivid deep violet/purple/lilac when young but usually fades to a pale brown as it ages. The violet colour deepens when wet or damp to merge perfectly with the bronzed leaves on the woodland floor. It is easy to walk by and not notice them but if you do catch a glimpse you will always be drawn to take a closer look - such a distinctive and sumptuous appearance!
The stems of this mushroom are sometimes bent or twisted and the caps can be variable in shape – often perfectly convex when young but becoming flattened, wavy edged, irregular and quite deformed with age.
The variable and changeable appearance of this beautiful mushroom can make it difficult to identify – hence ‘deceiver’.
When I showed the photographs to one of my walking friends the immediate response was ‘red cabbage’! Well, this little beauty is indeed also known as the Red Cabbage fungus. It is edible, but beware! There are similar looking species and it can be mistaken for the poisonous Lilac Fibrecap (Inocybe geophylla var. Lilacina) and Lilac Bell Cap or Lilac Bonnet (Mycenae Pura), so best left alone.
