Clitocybe nuda
Bluet [sic]
The bluet has always been a popular mushroom on the Pacific
Coast and in the east, but its occurrence here in the Southwest
is always uncertain. In one of our wetter seasons, however, it
will put in an appearance. In New Mexico one finds Clitocybe
nuda in mixed conifer woods or with aspen. Virtually all of my
collections have been made in the Jemez mountains, but I suspect
one can find the it in a variety of locations if conditions are
right.
Our variant generally has a very pale purplish tan pileus with
gills and stipe somewhat more purple. The deep purple form so
common on the West Coast is very rare here. Among the
considerable number of notable edibles, I find this one very
good. It holds its form and color well in cooking and has a
very subtle but excellent flavor.
The various names applied to this agaric suggest a long and
somewhat argumentative history. Lepista was created to
contain mushrooms with ornamented spores, pinkish to flesh
colored spore deposits, and attached but not decurrent gills.
Bigelow and Smith reduced/submerged Lepista into a
section of Clitocybe for they felt these characteristics
intergraded to a degree that weakened the separation of these
two genera.
I personally do not see that anything is gained by "lumping"
these two genera when, for the most part, they are readily
separable. Bigelow (__) redefined Leucopaxillus to
exclude Leucopaxillus giganteus due to its "weak" amyloid
reaction and retained the remainder of Leucopaxilli with amyloid
spores as a distinct genus. So it might be with Clitocybe nuda
and its closest relatives. Mushroom genera are largely human
constraints, and the day of the huge unwieldy genera is past.
What is needed is more careful work on reliable traits to mark
functional separation of mushroom genera. Great strides have
been made in recent years, but there are still problems with
defining certain groups of mushrooms, and this is an example of
such a problem.
Bill Isaacs
1996-12-30
Notes:
• A common name for the C.nuda is
"Blewit." It is uncertain whether Bill Isaacs' "Bluet" was a variation or
just a mis-spelling.
• Learn more about C.nuda at MushroomExpert.Com.