Lilac Fibrecap / Summer / Autumn / Toxic
Scientific Name
Inocybe Geophylla var. lilacina
Common Names
Lilac Fibrecap.
Family
Inocybaceae
Habitat
They are mycorrhizal and are most often found beneath deciduous trees, occasionally near conifers.
Description
A fairly common and potentially deadly mushroom. They contain potentially lethal amounts of the chemical muscarine.
Identifying Features:
Cap:
Conical when young they flatten out with age. They are lilac in colour when young but they may fade to a light brown with age. They have a raised umbo in the centre. The caps are covered in silky radial fibres and they tend to split along their margins as they get older.
Stem:
A similar colour to the caps, they are silky and fibrous.
Gills:
The gills are cream coloured when young, darkening with age, fairly crowded and adnexed.
Smell:
Mealy, like damp flour.
Spores:
Brown.
Known hazards
This is one of the most hazardous mushrooms in the UK and is often mistaken for edible species. They contain potentially lethal amounts of muscarine. Although death in a healthy adult is rare, symptoms of poisoning can include excessive salivation, abdominal pains, sickness and diarrhoea, together with blurred vision and laboured breathing.
Potential lookalikes
They can be confused with the Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina) but these have violet coloured gills.
Extra Notes
The genus name Inocybe means fibrous head and geophylla derives from geo meaning earth in ancient Greek and phylla meaning leaf, the variant name lilacina refers to the cap colour.
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