Note: This post was inspired by overhearing a conversation at my local pub where they raved on about a local guy who knew where the ‘Blue Legs’ were at! He had bags of them for sale! I could only assume that they meant ‘Blewits’. On asking the bar maid, she knew nothing of Blewits and only that they were known locally as ‘Blue Legs’. Only later I have realised ‘Blue Legs’ are a common name given to ‘Field Blewits’ much less common than our Wood Blewit in question which has the common nae of ‘Blue Cap”. This makes you think though. The relevance of scientific ‘latin’ names holds its own here. I think a lot is lost in translation in mushroom identification with common names. Even though I love them so, Latin names make sense overall (even though they tend to change themselves!!)
Winter was making itself felt as it’s cold arm stretched across the land. But one lazy Sunday afternoon at the end of November, I dragged myself over to the local mushroom hangouts. Being south side of a major city you’re a little stuck for local woodland. Blaby on the other hand (South Leicester) comes up with the goods. We have a collection of mini public woodland and country byways. They’re all great because at one point or another they eventually end up at the local pub! Or is that my doing?
Anyway. For a casual stroll, I was surprised to come across quite a few lovely specimens. Three of them I’m still not sure about and still checking. But unmistakably I think I came across my first ‘Wood Blewit’ (Lepista nuda). You’ll maybe notice I have filed this post both under ‘Identity Crisis’ AND ‘Woodland Treats’ categories. All the characteristics were there. The colour, the presence of a wavy margin and also it being a stand alone species, living on dead organic matter (saprotrphs). It even was an exact match (pictorial-wise) to one of my reference books – it looked exactly the same! But I know that looks are deceiving, especially in this pass time. But even when I picked it, the wood floor wanted to come with it! Another tell tale sign. But I knew of the danger of mistaking it for one of the ‘Webcaps’. Surely a spore print would solve this issue for me. Wouldn’t it?
See the pics below. I know they’re not of the best quality as I was bloody cold and didn’t have time to get the best results!
The blue (purple/violet) colours of the Wood Blewit mushroom
Anyway. One spore print later I find it to be (what I’d call) light brown!? And what am I looking for? Pale pink is the answer. I tried to convince myself this WAS pale pink, but no – this was a light brown, and that means Webcap. How can it be? There were no remains of web fibres on the cap to the stem – nothing!
This perplexes me and I don’t like it! I will very will come back to this post and answer my own question. There’s nowt as queer as mushrooms!
UPDATE JAN 2010: John Wright (Mushroom man extraordinaire, best known from his appearances on River Cottage) kindly replied to an email I sent about this identity crisis. He wrote: ‘Thank you for your email and sorry to take so long to reply. I like your article and your Wood Blewits are definitely Wood Blewits. The spore print colour question is understandable – the pink is a little subjective – it is a very pale lilac and not unlike a very pale brown! Webcaps have distinctive rust brown spores…’
Invaluable information I think you’ll agree. Thanks John. Case Closed!
