A Guide to Purple Mushrooms: Common Species, Identification and Details

Purple mushrooms have long captivated people with their vivid and unusual colors. These mushrooms grow in forests around the world from North America and Europe to Asia and Australia. While the majority are considered poisonous some purple mushroom species are edible.

This guide provides an overview of 23 common purple mushroom species, including details on identification habitat edibility and unique characteristics. It aims to give mushroom hunters, naturalists and fungi enthusiasts a helpful resource for learning more about these colorful fungi.

Overview of Purple Mushroom Species

There are over 10,000 species of mushrooms worldwide, with at least 450 exhibiting purple colors to some degree. Purple mushrooms span multiple genera, including Cortinarius, Russula, Laccaria, Lepista, Leptonia and more.

The purple pigment in these mushrooms is often very unstable and fades with age and exposure to sunlight. This can make identification tricky. The vivid purple caps and stems are most prominent when the mushrooms are young.

Here are a few quick facts about purple mushrooms:

• They grow predominantly in forests, especially near trees like oak, pine, birch and beech.

• Most species emerge in the fall, during wet weather. Some also fruit in the spring.

• The majority have gills on the underside of their caps rather than pores or teeth.

• While some are edible when cooked, most purple mushrooms are inedible or poisonous. Proper identification is essential.

Below we cover 23 of the most common types of purple mushrooms found around the world.

1. Viscid Violet Cort

Scientific name: Cortinarius iodes

The aptly named Viscid Violet Cort mushroom has a deep violet cap that can reach up to 6 inches wide. The gills and tall stalk are also a dark purple. It has a sticky cap surface.

This mushroom fruits singly or scattered on the ground in eastern North American and Asian forests. It grows under hardwood trees, especially oak.

2. Blewit

Scientific name: Lepista nuda

One of the largest purple mushrooms, the Blewit can have a cap up to 6 inches across. It is a pale violet color that fades as it ages. The gills are pink and the stem whitish.

Blewits emerge in late autumn in forests throughout North America and Europe. They have an appetizing aroma and are edible and choice when cooked.

3. Shellfish-scented Russula

Scientific name: Russula xerampelina

This stocky purple mushroom has a cap reaching 8 inches wide. It is variable in color, ranging from purple to brown. The gills are white and it smells like shellfish.

It fruits in mixed woods across North America and Europe. The Shellfish-scented Russula is edible when young but gets sour tasting as it ages.

4. Primrose Brittlegill

Scientific name: Russula sardonia

The Brittlegills are a group of fragile purple mushrooms. Primrose Brittlegill has a deep purple cap that lightens towards yellow as it matures. The gills are pale yellow and the spore print is cream.

It grows in European and North American coniferous forests, especially pine woods. The mushroom is mildly hot-tasting and generally considered inedible, though not toxic.

5. Purple Brittlegill

Scientific name: Russula atropurpurea

Very similar to the Primrose Brittlegill, this mushroom has a dark purple cap that remains purplish throughout its life. It has creamy white gills and stipe.

Purple Brittlegills emerge in carpets in deciduous and coniferous forests across North America and Europe. They have a radish-like taste and are not recommended for consumption.

6. Humpback Brittlegill

Scientific name: Russula caerulea

The Humpback Brittlegill has a unique bumpy, humpbacked cap that is dark purple in the center and pale blue around the margins. The gills are crowded and white.

It grows solo or scattered on the ground in deciduous forests. This mushroom is mildly hot-tasting with a fishy aroma. It is generally considered inedible raw.

7. Violet Coral

Scientific name: Clavaria zollingeri

One of the most uniquely shaped purple mushrooms, Violet Coral has a long, branching, coral-like fruiting body. It is a bright violet color that fades with age.

This species grows in lawns, fields and forests in Europe and Asia. It emerges from the ground in clusters. Violet Coral’s edibility is questionable, with reports it may cause stomach upset.

8. Lilac Bonnet

Scientific name: Mycena pura

The cute Lilac Bonnet mushroom has a conical, bell-shaped cap 1-2 inches tall. The cap surface is a lilac purple color while the stem is purple-brown.

It fruits in dense clusters on decaying conifer logs and stumps, especially pines. Lilac Bonnets are poisonous and contain toxins that can cause severe cramps and nausea.

9. Violet Webcap

Scientific name: Cortinarius violaceus

The Violet Webcap has velvety, deep violet caps up to 6 inches wide reposing on solid, bulbous, purple stems. The flesh is also distinctly purple.

This mushroom grows with conifers and deciduous trees, including birch, poplar and beech. It is found across North America, Europe and Asia but never in large numbers.

10. Purple-bloom Russula

Scientific name: Russula mariae

The Purple-bloom Russula is a squat, chubby mushroom with a deep purple cap reaching 4 inches wide. The gills are pale purple and the stipe whitish.

It emerges from the ground in oak forests across eastern North America. This mushroom is mildly toxic, causing stomach upset if consumed raw or undercooked.

11. Lilac Oysterling

Scientific name: Panus conchatus

A tiered cluster of oyster-shaped caps in muted lilac is characteristic of the Lilac Oysterling. It fruits solely on dead oak wood.

This mushroom is found in European and North American deciduous forests. It is not recommended for consumption and may be poisonous.

12. Plums and Custard

Scientific name: Tricholomopsis rutilans

The vivid Plums and Custard mushroom has a bright purple cap and lemon yellow gills, hence its bicolor name. The crowded gills decurrently run down the stipe.

It grows in dense overlapping rows on decaying conifer wood and roots in Europe and North America. This mushroom is not edible.

13. Silverleaf Fungus

Scientific name: Chondrostereum purpureum

The Silverleaf fungus causes a silvering disease on trees. Its fruiting body forms flattened, shell-like caps that are purple with white edges on infected wood.

It is a parasitic fungus that attacks many hardwoods and shrubs, including maple, oak, redbud and roses. Once a tree is infected, this fungus will persist for years, progressively weakening the tree.

14. Amethyst Deceiver

Scientific name: Laccaria amethystina

Widespread throughout North American and European forests, the Amethyst Deceiver has a muted lavender cap that fades to gray-brown as it matures. The gills are a deep purple.

It fruits prolifically in clusters on the forest floor under deciduous and coniferous trees. Considered inedible and not a choice edible, it is too tough and tasteless.

15. Purple Pinwheel

Scientific name: Marasmius haematocephalus

The dainty Purple Pinwheel has a deeply ribbed purple cap just half an inch tall on a thin, wiry purple stem. Tiny and graceful, it grows in abundance on decaying leaves and wood.

It is widely distributed in forests across the Americas. Purple Pinwheels are not recommended for consumption.

16. Purple-spored Puffball

Scientific name: Calvatia cyathiformis

The Purple-spored Puffball is a round, purple ball lacking an obvious stalk or cap. When mature, it releases a mass of powdery purple spores when compressed.

This puffball is found fruiting on the ground in forests of North America, Europe and southern Australia. It is edible only when immature and still whitish inside.

17. Purplepore Bracket

Scientific name: Trichaptum abietinum

The thin, leathery Purplepore Bracket shelf fungus grows in layered, overlapping brackets on dead conifer wood. It has a soft purple underside made of tiny pores instead of gills.

This species fruits year-round on fallen logs and standing dead timber. It is widely distributed in forests across North America, Europe and Asia.

18. Western Amethyst Laccaria

Scientific name: Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis

The Western Amethyst has deep purple gills and a lavender-gray cap that is distinctly shell-shaped. The spore print is whitish.

It grows with conifers in western North American forests. While edible, this small mushroom is not a choice edible due to its poor flavor and texture.

19. Reddish Brown Bitter Bolete

Scientific name: Tylopilus rubrobrunneus

Despite its name, the cap of the Reddish Brown Bitter Bolete is initially a purple-brown before fading. The fat stem is yellow with pink dots.

This large mushroom fruits solitary or scattered under oak in deciduous forests across eastern North America. As its name suggests, it has a bitterly unpleasant taste.

20. Violet Gray Bolete

Scientific name: Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus

Similar to the previous species, this Bolete has a violet-gray cap that slowly turns brown. The pores underneath are yellow then pinkish. The stipe is bright purple.

It emerges in deciduous and coniferous forests in eastern North America. This mushroom is extremely bitter tasting and not suitable for eating.

21. Purple-edge Bonnet

Scientific name: Mycena purpureofusca

The Purple-edge Bonnet is a small mushroom with a brown, conical cap and purplish-brown stem. It grows in dense clusters on decaying logs.

This species is common in European forests, especially on conifer wood. Purple-edge Bonnets are not recommended for consumption.

22. Hairy Oyster Mushroom

Scientific name: Panus lecomtei

The cap of the Hairy Oyster Mushroom is covered in dark violet hairs atop a pale lilac surface. It grows in tiered clusters on deciduous trees.

In Europe, Asia and North America, this species emerges from late spring through fall on dead deciduous trees, especially poplar. It is edible and acclaimed for its anti-inflammatory properties.

23. Gassy Webcap

Scientific name: Cortinarius traganus

The toxic Gassy Webcap has a purple cap with yellowish dots and a yellowish, purple-banded stipe. It smells sweet or sour and has a hot taste.

This webcap grows with conifers in northern Asian and North American forests. It is poisonous and should not be consumed.

Identification Tips for Purple Mushrooms

Identifying wild mushrooms is an undertaking that requires caution. Always exercise great care in verifying the identity of any mushroom before considering consuming it.

Here are some tips for identifying purple mushrooms:

• Note the color and texture of the cap, gills, stem and flesh. Make note of any bruising reactions.

• Observe the mushroom’s habitat and surroundings. What is it growing on and nearby?

• Consider features like size, shape, attached veil, volva, etc.

• Take spore prints of mushrooms to compare spore color.

• Use resources like field guides and online databases to assist identification.

• When in doubt, do not eat it! Only consume store-bought mushrooms or those you have 150% identified yourself.

While many purple mushroom species are toxic or inedible, some are choice edibles when properly cooked. With good identification skills and caution, mushroom hunting can yield beautiful and delicious purple fungal finds. Just be sure to always put safety first!