''Clitocybe violaceifolia'', also known as the western cypress blewit, is a species of gilled mushroom native to western North America. ''C. violaceifolia'' can be distinguished from its choice-edible cousin, the wood blewit, by its association with trees in the cypress family. According to California mycologist

Alan Rockefeller Alan Rockefeller (born 1980) is an American mycologist who specializes in Fungus, fungi photography, microscopy, DNA barcoding, and taxonomy. ''National Geographic'' described Rockefeller as "one of the most well-known mycologists studying psil ...

, ''C. violaceifolia'' "smells like mud". These mushrooms are theoretically edible but are reportedly quite unpalatable. This species was first described by William A. Murrill in 1913 from a type species collected near Salem, Oregon by Morton E. Peck. Murrill's description was " Pileus convex, somewhat gibbous, solitary, 3 cm. broad; surface slightly viscid when moist, smooth, glabrous, grayish-violet tinted with brown at the center, margin entire, slightly paler;

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

very narrow, adnexed to slightly decurrent, rather crowded, arcuate, pale-violet;

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

ellipsoid, smooth, hyaline, 7-8 X 3.5-4.5; stipe equal, fleshy, solid, smooth, glabrous, grayish-violet, mycelioid at the base, 3 cm. long, 6 mm. thick." The western cypress blewit has been documented in Oregon, California, and Arizona.

References

Fungi of North America Fungi described in 1913 Taxa named by William Alphonso Murrill Fungus species violaceifolia {{Agaricales-stub