Blewit mushroom basics in 5 minutes: How to identify edible Clitocybe nuda / Lepista nuda mushrooms

Learn about edible blewit mushrooms in 5 minutes with this quick species overview. I'll demonstrate how to identify this attractive purple and light brown mushroom using a mature specimen and one of my illustrations. I couldn't find a young blewit to share with you, so I drew one instead.

Blewits go by the scientific names Lepista nuda and Clitocybe nuda, and they grow solo or small groups on leaf litter in cold weather. Clitocybe nuda is popular with novice foragers and seasoned mushroom hunters alike, though admittedly not everyone enjoys them. I think they are slightly better than a Hot Pocket, so I eat them occasionally. The Hot Pocket is my benchmark for whether a mushroom is worth eating; if it's tastier than a Hot Pocket, then it's an eating mushroom. If it's less satisfying than a Hot Pocket, that sucker is staying in the woods.

Key identification features for blewits include:
1. Stout, flossy stem, often with bits of purplish mycelium stuck to the base.
2. Tightly packed gills that are purple to lilac with pinkish spores. The gills clearly detached from the stem and are thin and fragile.
3. Firm, somewhat rubbery flesh that is purple-gray.
4. Purple to light brown caps, sometimes with an attractive dark purple margin.