Garden Fungi – Lepista sublilacina

 

(© P Leonard)

(© P Leonard)

 
Grows in GRASS.
 
Common Name: Lilac Blewit
 
Fruit-body: This is a medium sized fungus that is a beautiful lilac or lavender colour and usually grows in grass. It is mushroom shaped with a cap 30 – 60 mm diameter and a stem 50 – 60 mm tall. The gills are pale pinkish when the fungus is fresh and it has a mix of long and short gills. It has a characteristic smell.
 
Spore print: Very pale pink.
 
Habit: Usually found growing in groups in grass where mowing clippings are left to compost, often the stems are joined together to form clumps. Can also be found in other places where grass clippings have been dumped.