Laccaria amethystina, commonly known as the Amethyst Laccaria or Amethyst Deceiver, is a small, strikingly violet agaric with a slender fibrous stem and thick, widely spaced gills. Its vivid colour can fade with age or in dry conditions, making it less conspicuous. It typically grows in scattered groups on soil in broadleaf and mixed woodland, often among leaf litter.

Cap deep purplish lilac when fresh and dries to a buff colour. Initially convex, it becomes flattened and eventually develops a depressed centre with a wavy margin. The surface is smooth or slightly scurfy at the centre in older specimens. Flesh is thin and matches the cap in colour. Gills attached to the stem, occasionally running slightly down it. They are distant or nearly so, thick, waxy in texture, and dark purple or similar in colour to the cap. Stem equal in width or slightly swollen at the base and very tough and fibrous. It is finely to coarsely hairy or scaly, matching the cap in colour. At the base, lilac to whitish mycelium may be present. It has no ring. Spore print white.

Microscopic Features: Spores are roughly spherical, measuring 8 to 11 micrometres in diameter. They are covered in spines up to 1.5 micrometres tall and are hyaline (translucent).

Laccaria amethystina on the First Nature Web site.
Laccaria amethystina on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.