Field Blewit, Lepista saeva

AKA: Clitocybe saeva (saeva means fierce, outrageous, angry or strong), Lepista personata (personata means disguised, pretended or false)

IDENTIFICATION:

The Field Blewit is a very variable mushroom in colour particularly.

SMELL: (a good identification feature since very distictive [1] but you will have to get used to the smell first by identifying the mushroom by other means)

Strong and pleasant, perfumed smell [1].

CAP (pileus) colour: (not a good identification feature on it's own)

Beige but drying paler (Collins Complete Guide shows the cap as almost brown as does wikipedia). Peter Jordan says 'Shiny buff which turns brown later'.

CAP form: (not a good identification feature on it's own)

Thick and fleshy, thick and chunky, flesh white and firm, flesh white or flesh coloured. The cap starts out convex, later flatter and can eventually become slightly depressed. 5-12cm diameter. Often rather irregular when growing in clumps [1].

GILLS (lamellae): (not a good identification feature on it's own)

'Whitish and crowded', 'grey-pink gills are sinuate and crowded', 'white to grey-pink', 'light beige'. 'Adnate [1]'. Wikipedia says they are free or emarginate and are cream to light brown with a pinkish tint.

SPORES: (not a good identification feature on it's own but coupled with cap, stipe and gill colour and form it is a good identification feature as far as either L. nuda or L. saeva. Atleast this is what I have gathered from the descriptions I have read ie I don't know this for CERTAIN)

Pale pink

STIPE: (not a good identification feature on it's own)

Streaked bright violet especially near base which is often swollen. No ring. 4-10cm in height, 15-25mm in width (Wikipedia says 25-30mm). Stout cylindrical with slightly swollen base. Whitish ground covered in course violet or blue fibrils.

SIMILAR SPECIES:
Cortinarius camphoratus - ? I think this has a rusty brown spore print ... I also think it is DEADLY.
Cortinarius pupurascens - Cobweb veil, sticky cap, flesh purple and smells fruity, rusty brown spores, POISONOUS/SUSPECT
Cortinarius pseudosalor - Sticky cap, rusty brown spores, POISONOUS/SUSPECT
Clitocybe nebularis (Clouded Agaric) - has grey cap and decurrent gills, also an edible species
Calocybe gambosa (St George's mushroom) - Grows at different time of year (April and onwards during spring I think), lacks violet stipe.

HABITAT: (not a good identification feature on it's own)

Grassland and at the edges of deciduous woodland, on gardens and at roadsides. Often in rings. In pastures in large rings.

EATING:

MUST be cooked before eating and can still disagree with some people. It contains trehalose (I can't remember whether this is the potentially disagreeable substance in it)

RECIPES:

In stews: Chop and add to stews to show off its great flavour, which also enhances game. toasted nuts and strongs cheese.

As tripe: Aromatic taste and jellyish texture are reminiscent of tripe. Remove stipes and chop up stipes finely with equal amount of onions and pack round the cap in a pan with chopped sage and bacon fat. Just cover with milk and simmer for 30 mins. Thicken with flour and butter. Simmer for 15 mins then season. Serve mixture inside a ring of mashed potatoes, with toast and apple sauce.

Omlette filling: Fry them up with onions and copped potato, use as an omlette filling.

I haven't definitely found these yet. I know I've found Lepista nuda (wood blewit) and they were good in the risotto a friend made (the risotto was good, couldn't specifically taste the blewits although I think they had turned even more purple!).

A short guide on L. nuda cultivation (L. saeva may be similar):

http://www.mycelia.be/myc8550.htm

References

[1]Paul Sterry - A Photographic Guide to Mushrooms of Britain and Europe (Copyright 1995: New Holland (Publishers) Ltd

[2] Paul Sterry and - Collins Complete Guide to Britains Mushrooms and Toadstools




Edible and Poisonous Fungi - The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries:

Commercial wild mushrooming damaging forests

Wild mushroom foraging is damaging forests, warn nature groups

Wild mushroom foraging for commercial gain damaging local ecology, say RSPB, National Trust and Forestry Commission

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* Juliette Jowit
* guardian.co.uk, Sunday 24 October 2010 18.30 BST
* Article history

Wild mushrooms Wild mushroom picking for commercial gains in forests and protected areas has become a cause of concern. Photograph: Getty

The fashion for collecting wild mushrooms began with celebrity chefs such as Antonio Carluccio, and has been encouraged by those with a revived interest in local food, such as Jamie Oliver.

This year's wet summer and mild autumn has produced bumper crops of colourful wax caps, common ceps and luscious chanterelles.

But this new generation of foodies and foragers are beginning to trample the forests and fields that feed them – as well as many animals and insects, warn those who look after the UK's woodlands and nature reserves.

Concern is particularly high at some of the country's best-known beauty spots, including the New Forest, Epping Forest, and around the North Downs hills and the Chilterns.

So serious is the problem in some areas that a few big collectors, found with bagfuls of mushrooms from one trip, are being prosecuted. In just one weekend earlier this month, forest managers reportedly confiscated 45kg (100lbs) of fungi at a site near London.

Conservation managers and organisations appear to agree that small-scale collecting for personal use is not the problem. The Forestry Commission and the National Trust organise courses to help people identify safe mushrooms and teach how to collect them without damaging the surrounding landscape. Crucially, collectors are also urged to leave enough behind for the deer, rabbits, mice and insects such as flies and beetles, which also feast on fungi.

Matthew Oates of the National Trust, which is one of the UK's biggest land owners, said: "If one or two people visit a place and pick a few, that's probably not much of a problem. But if a couple of people go there repeatedly, visit the same place and collect as many as possible for commercial gain, that could be a problem."

Not everybody is worried. Carluccio, who has written two books about his passion for mushrooms and presented a BBC2 series on the subject, still goes collecting for his family's use, and believes environmental fears are exaggerated.

Carluccio said that this year's bumper crop, and the parallel reduction in mushroom species that are not collected for eating suggest fungiphiles are not the problem. He also points out that once a mushroom cap is open it has released breeding spores, and that centuries of collection in other countries in Europe, such as Italy and France, have not appeared to lead to long-term damage.

"The mushrooms are there every year, so it's not true that picking mushrooms would destroy the place," Carluccio said.

The chef, who does not use wild mushrooms in his cafes and delis, believes there should be licences for commercial collectors to ensure they behave responsibly, as there are in many other European countries. "There should be more discipline in collecting: not trampling everything, not destroying everything and to be limited to what you can consume. But don't deprive people of the wonders of going to the woods for the mushrooms," he added.

Despite Carluccio's comments, there are plenty who are worried. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said commercial collecting was a growing problem on its reserves near London and other cities. The National Trust is also worried about commercial collectors, especially on the sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) that it manages and warned that it is illegal to collect in protected areas. Several SSSIs are in the New Forest in south-west England, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, which reported that "fungi picking is becoming an increasing problem … with more and more large-scale, potentially commercial picking being observed year-on-year".

Perhaps one of the most visited SSSIs, is Epping Forest, on the north-east edge of London, where keepers report that illegal fungi picking has reached record highs this year. Individuals have been found with five bags full of mushrooms at a time, including poisonous species. This has led managers to suspect they are being collected commercially for sorting elsewhere. The City of London Corporation, which owns the forest, has already issued 20 formal warnings this year. It has successfully prosecuted one person and is currently prosecuting a further six.

"Fungi play a vital role in the ecology of all natural habitats," said Keith French, the forest services manager. "They are nature's recyclers, as they break down organic matter from plants and animals. Many creatures feed on fungi, and they are host to some rare invertebrates that are unique to these ancient woodlands.

He added: "We welcome people visiting the forest and admiring the many fascinating shapes, forms and colours the fungi world has to offer, but please leave them there for the next visitor and future generations to enjoy."
Collecting tips

• Some mushrooms are poisonous: only collect what you know is safe and always carry a field guide to be sure.

• Wildlife need mushrooms too: only collect what you will personally use (about 1.5kg, as a guide).

• Only pick from plentiful populations and do not collect more than half of any one species at a location.

• The bulk of the mushroom is below the surface: take care not to damage it or trample surroundings.

• Mushrooms reproduce by sending out spores when they open: do not pick until the cap is fully open, or after it is past its best.

• On private land and nature reserves ask for permission and advice before collecting.

• It is illegal to collect fungi on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

For more advice, read Phil Daoust's guide to picking wild mushrooms

Sources: The Scottish Wild Mushroom Code, published by Scottish Heritage; and Forestry Commission