''Lepista personata'' (also recognised as ''Lepista saeva'', ''Clitocybe saeva'' and ''Tricholoma personatum'', and commonly known as the field blewit and blue-leg) is a species of edible

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

commonly found growing in grassy areas across Europe and is morphologically related to the

wood blewit ''Clitocybe nuda'', commonly known as the wood blewit and alternately described as ''Lepista nuda'', is an edible mushroom native to Europe and North America. Described by Pierre Bulliard in 1790, it was also known as ''Tricholoma nudum'' for ma ...

('' Lepista nuda'').

Taxonomy

This species was originally proclaimed by

Elias Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired an ...

in 1818, as ''Agaricus personatus''.

Cooke Cooke is a surname derived from the occupation of cook. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander Cooke (died 1614), English actor * Alfred Tyrone Cooke, of the Indo-Pakistani wars * Alistair Cooke KBE (1908–2004), British-American j ...

proposed in 1871 another name still in use today — ''Lepista personata''. Other names were to follow, namely ''Lepista saeva'' by P.D. Orton in 1960 and ''Clitocybe saeva'' by H.E. Bigelow & A.H. Smith in 1969, the latter placing the fungus in the larger genus ''

Clitocybe ''Clitocybe'' is a genus of mushrooms characterized by white, off-white, buff, cream, pink, or light-yellow spores, gills running down the stem, and pale white to brown or lilac coloration. They are primarily saprotrophic, decomposing forest grou ...

''. In

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, the

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''sævus'' is an

adjective In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Tra ...

meaning either fierce, outrageous, angry or strong. Likewise, ''personatus'' is a

participle In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...

meaning disguised, pretended or false.

Description

The

fruiting body The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cy ...

of the mushroom resembles an

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushrooms ...

. The

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

is at first hemispherical or convex, becoming almost flat with maturity, up to 16 cm in diameter. The cap cuticle is colored cream to light brown with a smooth texture to the touch, and is often seen glistening when fresh. Along the periphery, the cap ends in a thick incurved margin which may unfold as the mushroom expands. The white to pallid

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as mu ...

is thick, firm and delicate upon slicing. The underside of the cap bears crowded pinkish, cream to light brown

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, which are free or emarginate in relation to the stem. The

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

itself is cylindrical with a bulbous, or sometimes tapering base, and does not bear a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

. The stem is covered by a striking lavender or lilac-coloured fibrous skin which fades in older individuals, and has a thick, firm flesh concolorous with that of the cap. It is up to 6–7 cm tall and 2.5–3 cm in diameter. Under a light microscope, the spores are seen hyaline to pink, ellipsoid in shape, and with fine warts. The spore dimensions are 6-8 by 4-5 µm. ''L. personata'' produces a pale pink

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

Distribution and habitat

''Lepista personata'' is found fruiting in open grasslands, parks, pastures, forest clearings, and in the vicinity of forest edges, unlike ''Lepista nuda'' which is commonly found in woodland. ''Lepista personata'' fruits gregariously, forming distinctive

fairy ring A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by ...

s. Its fruiting season extends from summer to the beginning of winter, and is widespread in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In the UK, the season extends from September through to December. It has also been allegedly reported from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

.Arora, David. (1986). ''Mushrooms Demystified''. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

Edibility

Field blewits are generally regarded as edible, but they are known to cause

allergic Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic der ...

reactions in sensitive individuals. This is particularly likely if the mushroom is consumed raw, though allergic reactions are known even from cooked blewits. Field blewits should therefore be cooked before eating, as the consumption of raw specimens could lead to

indigestion Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier t ...

. Blewits can be eaten as a cream sauce or sautéed in

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

; they can also be cooked like

tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep. Types of tripe Beef tripe Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...

or as an

omelette In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives, ve ...

filling. Field blewits are often infested with fly larvae and don't store very well; they should therefore be used soon after picking. They are also very porous, so they are best picked on a dry day.

References

External links

*
"Mushroom-Collecting.com - The Blewit"

All that Rain Promises and More - Blewit
{{Taxonbar, from=Q25379773 Edible fungi personata Tricholomataceae Fungi of Europe Fungi found in fairy rings Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries