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Lilac Bonnet vs Wood Blewit

Mycena pura and Lepista nuda are confused for one another often enough to be worth putting next to each other.

Mycena puraLilac BonnetPoisonous

Pretty lilac bonnet with a strong radish smell. Contains muscarine and is not eaten.

Lepista nudaWood BlewitEdible

Lilac gills and stem, a late-autumn species. Always cook it — raw blewits upset the stomach.

Side by side

Mycena puraLepista nuda
In this gamePoisonousEdible
HabitatLeaf litter in broadleaf and conifer woodland.Leaf litter and compost in woodland, hedgerows and gardens.
SeasonSummer to late autumn.Autumn into early winter, tolerating frost.
Spore printWhite.Pale pink.

The recorded spore prints differ: white for Mycena pura, pale pink for Lepista nuda. That is one documented difference, not a test you can pass.

This comparison cannot make a mushroom safe to eat. It sets out the few characteristics this game records, in general terms, for two species that vary by region, age and growing conditions. Real specimens overlap in ways no table and no photograph can separate, and the deadly one here is deadly in a single meal. Ask a qualified local expert, every time.

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