Wood Blewit

My garden is not really that rich in fungi, so it was a surprise to find these Wood Blewits (Clitocybe nuda, #702) popping up among my courgette plants in the veg plot. I dug in a large trough of compost and leaf litter for the courgettes, and this seems to be to their liking as several clusters of Blewits have appeared. These are edible fungi so I’m plucking up courage to try them. According to various foraging websites the identification is based on the shape, pale mauve colour turning brown with age, the gills & how they join the stem and the fat stem itself - also the season and the habitat. Wood Blewit is not a rare mushroom, but there are other similar (and toxic) species, so a bit of care is warranted - the odour and spore print is also distinctive so I should check that as well (before sauteing them in butter).