About this fungus
Gomez's Laccaria is a fungus in the Hydnangiaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A small purple to violet Laccaria with thick, widely spaced gills and a fibrous stem.
What to check
Confirm a white spore print, thick distant gills and growth with oak. Preserve mature material for spore ornamentation and other microscopic characters.
Variation
Purple colour fades with age, sun and drying, sometimes leaving pale brown caps and stems.
Lookalikes
Purple Laccaria species are difficult to separate by colour alone. Names used in Europe or North America should not automatically be applied in Central or South America.
Habitat and range
Originally described from Quercus forest in Colombia and Costa Rica, where it is presumed to form ectomycorrhiza with local trees.
Food safety
Inedible.