Blewit
Blewits wait until the cold weather of late autumn before fruiting, but they are a forager’s delight to find. They are saprophytes that decompose leaf litter and so can be found under a wide variety of trees. They will grow well in a compost pile if you introduce discarded mushrooms into the compost. The gills are a rich purple and sometimes run slightly down the stalk. The caps may be purple but more commonly are tan with maybe a hint of purple, even the young buttons. They boast a delicate floral scent. They tend to have few, if any worms. Get a spore print if in doubt about the identity, There are a number of potentially poisonous purple Cortinarius species with purple caps and/or gills, but they drop a warm brown spore print, unlike light-spored blewits. When sautéing them avoid garlic and pair with fixed onion or shallots. They have an excellent mouthfeel and delicate flavor that well suits them as a meat garnish or side dish. They are excellent pickled also.