Ground in thin woods, more frequently under poplars. Center. October.
The stem is sometimes subannulate, and being violet above and white below the obscure ring, it appears as if sheathed with a silky-white covering. Inodorous. Sometimes the stem gradually tapers from the base to the top, so that it can scarcely be called bulbous. Peck, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Spores 12×5–6µ Cooke; 6–9×4–5µ K.; pruniform, 10µ Q.
An allied species C. (Inoloma) lilacinus, Peck, with the stem and bulbous part much broader than the cap, is not as common, but of far better flavor.
Common in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, in mixed woods. September to frost. McIlvaine.
A mushroom flavor develops in cooking. The consistency of the flesh is good. It is of medium grade.
C. lilaci´nus Pk. Pileus firm, hemispherical, then convex, minutely silky, lilac-color. Lamellæ close, lilac, then cinnamon. Stem stout, bulbous, silky-fibrillose, solid, whitish, tinged with lilac. Spores nucleate, 10×6µ.
Plant 4–5 in. high. Pileus 3 in. broad. Stem 4–6 lines thick. Low mossy ground in woods. Croghan. September. This is a rare but beautiful plant, allied to C. alboviolaceus, from which it may be distinguished by its stouter habit, deeper color and bulbous stem. In the young plant the bulb is much broader than the undeveloped pileus that surmounts it. Peck, 26th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Massachusetts, Frost; Minnesota, Nova Scotia.
I have found a few specimens in several places: West Virginia, Redman’s woods, Haddonfield, N.J., in which place it is more plentiful than in any locality I have noted. Near lake at Eagle’s Mere, Pa., August, and at Springton, Pa. Excellent.