Names, authorship and dates from Index Fungorum.

• BasidiomycotaPhylum
• └─ AgaricomycetesClass
• └─ AgaricalesOrder
• └─ HydnangiaceaeFamily
• └─ LaccariaGenus

Higher ranks from Catalogue of Life (COL26.9 XR).

Broadleaf and coniferous forest, often with beech and oak, in troops

⚠ Before you pickWild fungi may be taken in small quantities for your own use (§39(3) BNatSchG) — but not in nature reserves or national parks, on closed land or on farmland in use, and never for sale (§39(4)). In Bavaria this right is anchored in Art. 141(3) of the state constitution and is limited to locally customary amounts; the competent authority is the district nature-conservation authority (untere Naturschutzbehörde). Local signs and ordinances come first.

Species protection from BArtSchV Annex 1 and §2(1), retrieved 2026-10-15; Red List from Dämmrich et al. (2016) (BfN / Rote-Liste-Zentrum). Not legal advice — local rules and signage may be stricter. BArtSchV Annex 1 · Red List data

• edible mushroom
• medicinal mushrooms
• inedible mushroom

Edible but insignificant; watch for poisonous lookalikes (e.g. violet Cortinarius species)

• ▸ Intense violet colour over the whole fruit body when fresh
• ▸ Waxy, widely spaced thick gills
• ▸ Fibrous, tough stem
• ▸ Colour fades quickly to pale tan as it ages or dries

The common name refers to how easily the violet colour 'deceives' — once faded, the mushroom blends into the forest floor and is easy to overlook.