Purple Laccaria (Laccaria ochropurpurea)

🏷️ Description

If you venture into the woods in late summer or autumn, you might stumble upon a striking mushroom with deep purple gills and a pale lilac-brown cap. Meet Laccaria ochropurpurea, also known as the Purple Laccaria, an edible but often overlooked forest gem! 🍂

🌳 Where to Find It

Laccaria ochropurpurea is a mycorrhizal mushroom, forming beneficial relationships with both hardwoods (like oak and beech) and conifers (especially eastern white pine). It grows alone, scattered, or in groups, primarily east of the Rocky Mountains. This species is quite common and often fruits in large numbers—making it an exciting find for foragers! 🍁

🔎 Identification

• Cap: 1.38 to 4.72 inches (3.5 to 12 cm), convex at first, flattening with age, sometimes with a central depression. Its color ranges from light lilac-brown to buff or nearly white.

• Gills: Thick, waxy, and attached to the stem. They start out deep purple but may lighten with age or become dusted with white spores.

• Stem: 1.57 to 7.09 inches (4 to 18 cm) long, fibrous, coarsely hairy or scaly, and similar in color to the cap. It has lilac basal mycelium.

• Spore Print: White (a key distinguishing factor from toxic lookalikes!).

• Flesh: Thick, colored like the cap, and with no distinctive odor or taste.

• Chemical Reactions: A KOH test briefly turns the cap and stem orangish—useful for differentiating from other Laccaria species.

👀 Look-Alikes

Be cautious when identifying Purple Laccaria, as it closely resembles certain Cortinarius species, which can be toxic.

Key differences:

✔️ Laccaria ochropurpurea has a white spore print and lacks a veil.

❌ Cortinarius species have a rusty-brown spore print and a cobweb-like veil covering the young gills.

It can also be confused with the Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina), which is smaller, more vibrantly purple, and may absorb arsenic from polluted soil.

🍽️ Culinary Uses

Yes, Purple Laccaria is edible! While it won’t win any awards for flavor (mild to flavorless), it has a firm texture and works well in mixed mushroom dishes.

✅ Foraging Tips:

• Choose young, fresh specimens.

• Discard tough or insect-ridden stems.

• Cook thoroughly (the purple color disappears when cooked!).

✅ Cooking Ideas:

• Sauté, grill, or roast them 🍳🔥

• Mix with flavorful mushrooms in stews 🍲

• Dry them for later use 🌾

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Annie Weissman (Public Domain)

Photo 2 - Author: Audrey Kauppila (CC BY 4.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Steven Lamonde (CC BY 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Spencer Bierman (CC BY 4.0)