Mushrooms with purple stems and gray caps were found near Fastiv

Mushrooms in the Kyiv region are found in large quantities in October by fans of “quiet hunting.” In Vepryk, located near Fastiv, lilac-footed and smoky mushrooms were found nearby. This was reported by a user of the “Mushrooms of Ukraine” community on Facebook.

She shared photos of interesting mushrooms that she saw right in her backyard.

In the comments, followers actively began to discuss the photos of the mushrooms. A friendly “expert council” of mushroom pickers gathered. Some of them believed that both mushrooms were purple-footed mushrooms (Lepista personata), while others suggested that the one on the right could be a smoky mushroom.

Other users also shared their findings.

Purple-footed mushroom

In Ukraine, the purple-footed mushroom grows from late August to November in meadows, steppes, pastures, and less frequently in forests on illuminated glades and forest edges.

The cap is 5-15 cm in diameter, fleshy, initially hemispherical, later convex-spread, flat-spread, with a thin, smooth, even edge.

The surface of the cap is quite smooth, ochre, cream, brownish-cream, reddish-grayish, yellowish-grayish.

The hymenophore is lamellar. The plates are dense, free, wide, initially whitish, later yellowish-ochre or cream. The spore powder is pinkish-yellowish.

The flesh is dense, fleshy, and lilac. It is thick, loose with age, creamy, grayish-lilac, with an unpleasant or faint fruity odor.
This mushroom is widespread in Europe. In Ukraine, it is found throughout the country. It is also found in North America.

The lilac-footed mushroom is edible. It is used after boiling, frying, cooking, or pickling. Its taste is similar to that of a champignon. Due to its appearance, this mushroom is quite difficult to confuse with inedible mushrooms.

We would like to remind you that a rare mushroom with a characteristic smell was found in a forest in Kyiv. A Kyiv resident said that the mushroom itself smelled like grass, its cap reached 4.5 cm, and its stem had a bulbous thickening at the base.