The wood blewit stands out in the late-autumn woods and leaf piles for its striking lilac-to-violet coloring throughout cap, gills, and stem when young. It has a distinctive perfumed aroma often likened to frozen orange juice, and a firm, savory taste that takes well to cream and butter. It even cultivates on compost. Two cautions keep it out of the beginner tier: it must be thoroughly cooked (raw or undercooked blewit upsets stomachs), and its purple coloring is shared by some Cortinarius species, a genus that includes deadly kidney-toxic members — so a rusty-brown spore print (vs the blewit's pale pinkish-buff) is a vital check.
Floral, perfumed (frozen-OJ), firm and savory.
Late autumn into early winter, tolerating frost; also cultivated.
Identification is a chain of clues that must all agree. This is a reference, not an identification authority -- confirm every wild find with an expert.
Also purple, but RUSTY-BROWN spore print and a cobwebby partial veil (cortina). Blewit has pale pinkish spores and no cortina.
Uniform lilac-violet cap/gills/stem when young, PALE PINKISH-BUFF spore print, perfumed smell. Always cook. CONFIRM the pale spore print to rule out deadly purple Cortinarius (rusty-brown spores).
Always cook thoroughly before eating, and try only a small test portion of any species new to you.