Hello all Brian here,,,this is my first post and I found a very nice purple mushroom.. I live in Asheville nc,and this one was found in bent creek. Any info...
What a lovely color! Fear not, rockhopper. Your mushroom will be identified pronto by our expert Forum fungi fanciers. Welcome to the Forum, and thanks for your photos! joclyn---it's PURPLE!
Yes I think so....is it rare to find a purple mushroom? I have spent a good bit of time in the woods and cow fields of GA, and in all my years I have never found a purple mushroom? I will give as much info as I can. found around 5:00 in the after noon. Heavy woods found in bent creek experimental forest. http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/bentcreek/ any other info you need
i hit the 'new posts' button rather than just visiting this or that forum, so i do see the postings in areas other than those that are my interests - and i do sometimes go and read them...i don't normally look at posts in the fungus forum because, well, they're usually pretty icky... i just HAD to take a look at this one, though, when i saw the descriptive 'purple' in the thread title ;) that ALWAYS catches my attention... wow! what a cutie!!! i wouldn't mind having that one show up in my garden at all!!! had no idea that a mushroom could be THAT pretty!! i wonder if it's native to your area or if it could be found as far north as where i am??
Looks like Clitocybe nuda to me - except that the gills on yours appear to be slightly decurrent. maybe a purple hygrophorus?
Well I have to say that here in NC there are so many nice things to see but the plants and such are the best.I live about 5 min from the bent creek experimental forest.and every time we go I find a new plant or mushroom to snap a pic of.... the only way to get around out there is with a bike or on foot..no cars in the back woods. Im going to start posting more pic's soon/
Hey there, Very beautiful mushroom! The rusty-coloured spore remnants on the gills and mid stem indicate a Cortinarius. In my region there are several species that look like that, eg. C. alboviolaceous, C.traganus. What I really like about Corts is that they tend to strong colours and strong colour combinations, sometimes strong smells. If you see any younger specimens, you would likely see a thready, webby veil connecting the cap edges to the stem; this is the cortina that gives this genus its name. cheers, Frog
Cool,,,it did have a strong smell...but i did not smell it much...I NEVER handle a mushroom in the wild. I have herd of to many stories...bad stories..
Yes, cortinarius. Puprle is the colour of royalty...and royalty were traditionally poisoned :o) It's the wrong time of year for Clitocybe nuda. Except down under, I understand. Nice find.
Thanks MycoRob :-) And RockhopperNC, since you mentioned the topic of handling, I'd like to climb up on my soapbox to opine that I think we could all run around handling poisonous mushrooms, then lick our fingers, and we'd be fine. OK admittedly I do wash my hands after handling the few big bad Amanitas, but I don't think it is actually necessary to do so. But, climbing up on an opposing soapbox, I wonder whether fear of touching mushrooms is something that should be encouraged, in order to help protect beautiful landscapes of blooming mushrooms for everyone to enjoy rather broken mushrooms on the ground when someone has fearlessly touched/picked "just to look at" then carelessly dropped at their feet, mindless sort of littering/destruction. Whatcha think? :-) frog
I always am late for the beautiful images! We're getting Cortinarius atkinsonianus right now....another member of this beautiful family of mushrooms...for us August is Purple Mushroom month here in Kansas. The photo I uploaded shows the distinct rusty brown spore that this grouping has. A beautiful mushroom to find for you! Our Clitocybe nuda (Blewits) will also be appearing here very shortly....I usually start harvesting those at the end of August all the way through December.
The depth and breadth of knowledge possessed by Forum members never ceases to leave me in awe. Well done, everyone!
I'd rather people left mushrooms be if they are not interested to learn about them, or for the reason of leaving them freor everyone to enjoy. When I was a kid, we were encouraged to destroy mushrooms and I have many (gushy) memories of punting shaggy manes. I get some of my best harvests in my city's busiest park because others don't know how delicious they are, and probably because others are in fear and ignorance. Though I benefit from the fear and ignorance, I would be loath to promote it.
What we all should do, whenever possible, is to show the beauty of fungi and educate folks as to the important role these living things play in the vast scheme of life on this planet. "People hate what they fear, and they fear what they don't understand." I feel that it is our obligation as possessors of knowledge to try to pass it on, and make the world a better place for both humans and fungi. Everything that exists in this world is important: we have to learn how to live together, not as adversaries but as coinhabitants. Mycophobia, begone!
Hey Brian! Keep an eye out! Friends of mine just told me they found you're lovely purple Cort hanging out with some corals......and Hedgehogs fungi! Must have made some beautiful visuals. The corals were a pure white...with the vibrant Corts...and the vivid orange Hedgehogs...wow! fishdr...those PINK OYSTERS ARE MAD AWESOME! The blues killed me the first time I saw...but those pinks are gorgeous! I found some oysters 2 days ago which is almost impossible in my area as it's been so dry and HOT...unusual to find them here in such a vivid display. Right next to them was a Ichneumon wasp. This lady was poking the log looking for a host larva to lay her eggs on. Same kind of wasp that leaves eggs on the tomatoe caterpillars. Yuck.
