Big bad boy

[Zen Peddler]

Check out this guy - large looked like a king Stropharia for a while then turned into a massive lilac spored thing - any clues? I have some suspicions but im not 100% due to the size:

The mycelium is actrually lilac purple rather than how it turned out.

[Shroomeup]

Looks like Lepista nuda. Did you smell it?

[Zen Peddler]

Ill go have a smell now. Looks almost identical to these images:

http://www.eukalypt.org/fungi_tertiary_pages/lnuda/Lnuda1.jpg

Ive been looking for wood blewits everywhere this year - didnt realise I might have them in my vegie patch

[Zen Peddler]

and this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77239556@N00/4060710574/

Pretty confident it is Lepista nuda. You beauty!

[Shroomeup]

Yeah I found some bigguns like that last week up in the hills. Theyve got such a unique smell, I love it.

[Zen Peddler]

Nice mate. Been back to that stand of birch?

[Zen Peddler]

I should have harvested it earlier as its a little bit slimy now. The smell however was amazing - kind of a mushie mycelia-type smell with a mix of strong orange juice - really smelled great and if it tastes half as nice Im laughing... massive thing too. cap is 15cms diameter.

[room]

I know what you mean - the purple colour is awesome and not done justice in the photos especially the mycelium...

I found these on saturday and since you have posted I wonder if that is what they are as well, but there is little chance of intentional introduction where I found them eg no pines around where they could have hitchiked from a nursery somewhere.

Thoughts on my specimen?

Anyone had any luck cultivating?

[room]

http://www.foragingguide.com/mushrooms/Wood_Blewit.html

Yours looks like Wood blewitt to me, did you eat it yet . If you dont reply I will know not to ....

[omsource]

http://www.foragingg...ood_Blewit.html

Yours looks like Wood blewitt to me, did you eat it yet . If you dont reply I will know not to ....

 

check your PM's room

[Shroomeup]

Nice mate. Been back to that stand of birch?

 

Nah mate, Haven't even bothered. I cut through down that road multiple times a week and I reckon 50% of the time there's at least two or three oldies in there picking. As you can imagine the area is even more trampled now. I think ive spied a few other stands of birch down the hill from there though which I'm gonna checkout soon.

BTW found a shitload of big blewitts at work today in Ferny Creek.

[Zen Peddler]

Cool mate ill go and have a look in that area. I had a look there recently as well but didnt find much.

As for the birch - if you walk into the place along that dirt road about 1.5 ksm there is a large stand in there. I also found a house around Upwey with about four birchs and volumes of boletes below them. They are all sad and old now as I didnt go back to pick them in the end. I can pm you the address if you wanna check it oy.

[Zen Peddler]

BTW - this Wood Blewitt was spectacular to eat!

[mutant]

The second specimen might be an Entoloma sp.