Wood blewit
Lepista nuda
A late-season mushroom with violet tints and a characteristic scent, which grows on piles of dead leaves and withstands the first frosts.
Partial shade
Role in permaculture
A litter decomposer: it turns dead leaves and woody residues into humus, making good use of a simple pile of autumn leaves in the shade of a hedge.
Growing this mushroom
- Method
- Leaf and hardwood compost, outdoors
- Substrate
- Compost of hardwood dead leaves or hard wood, preferably already a little broken down, with about 10 to 20% chopped straw added; sometimes composted manure.
- Where to place it
- At the edge of paths where leaves accumulate, in leaf-compost piles, under hedges and hardwood trees, in the shaded, cool areas of the garden rather than in full sun.
- Period
- Inoculation in spring or summer; fruiting in late summer, autumn, and early winter, the species tolerates the first frosts.
- Level
- Intermediate
Steps
- Prepare a bed or pit of slightly decomposed leaf and hard-wood compost, in shade and coolness.
- Mix the spawn into the substrate or bury it in a layer.
- Keep humid and in shade: colonisation is slow, often 6 to 12 months.
- Fruiting occurs the following autumn, favoured by the drop in temperatures; the site can re-fruit in later years if it's fed with leaves.
A good, renowned, fragrant edible, with a characteristic smell. Mainly culinary interest.
Precautions
When foraging, possible confusion with violet webcaps (some of which are toxic): unlike the wood blewit (a white-pink spore print), webcaps have a rusty spore print and a cortina. In case of doubt, have it validated.
Sources: Paul Stamets, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms (Lepista / Clitocybe nuda) · cultiver-les-champignons.com, identification, cueillette et culture du pied bleu · aujardin.info, fiche Lepista nuda ; mycoboutique.com, paramètres de culture
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
NEVER to be eaten raw and to be cooked thoroughly: raw or insufficiently cooked, the wood blewit contains poorly tolerated heat-labile compounds (digestive upset) and can, even cooked, upset sensitive people. General ANSES rule: never eat a mushroom raw, cook sufficiently.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers partial shade exposure.