Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Medium

Diet

Decomposer

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

The blewit is a gilled mushroom known for its striking lilac-to-violet cap and stem, which fade to tan as the fruiting body ages. It often grows in rings or clusters in leaf litter and compost piles, and is prized by foragers despite needing to be cooked before eating.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   spore

   A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2. 2.
   mycelium

   A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3. 3.
   fruiting body

   A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Fungi

Phylum

Basidiomycota

Class

Agaricomycetes

Order

Agaricales

Family

Clitocybaceae

Genus

Collybia

Species

Collybia nuda