Deceiver

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Deceiver is a very common, often abundant, small, edible, gilled mushroom. It occurs worldwide but is most common in Europe and North America. In the United States it occurs east of the Great Plains and west of the Rocky Mountains, and there is a disjunct population in the Denver, Colorado area. It is common in Minnesota. It is found from late spring through fall; alone, scattered, in groups, or occasionally clustered; often in woodlands but in a very wide variety of habitats. It grows on the ground in dirt or duff under or near hardwoods or conifers. Mushroomers sometimes consider it a “weed” mushroom due to its ubiquity, abundance, and “lackluster” appearance. One of its common names is Lackluster Laccaria.

When it first appears, the cap is convex. The upper surface may be bald or be moderately covered with fine hairs or minute scales. The color is highly variable. It may be shades of brown, orangish-brown, reddish-brown, pinkish-brown, or salmon-colored. The tissue is dark and more or less transparent when moist, becoming paler and opaque as it dries out (hygrophanous). The margins are curved inward. As it ages, the cap spreads out and the color fades. The mature cap is usually ⅝″ to 2″ (1.5 to 5 cm) in diameter but it may be larger or smaller. It is often depressed in the middle. The color is buff when dry, becoming darker when moist. The margins are curved downward and may be smooth, lined, or grooved. On older caps the margins are sometimes uplifted, sometimes wavy, and often eroded or lobed. Like the genus, this species is called “Deceiver” due to its tendency to fade and become difficult to identify.

The gills are thick, well-spaced, and somewhat waxy. They are usually broadly attached (adnate), sometimes slightly running down the stalk (decurrent), sometimes abruptly narrowed where they attach to the stalk (notched). They are pale pink to flesh-colored or reddish-tan when young, becoming dusted white as the spores mature.

The stalk is tough, flexible, often twisted, usually slender, ¾″ to 4″ (2 to 10 cm) long, and ⅛″ to ⅜″ (3 to 10 mm) thick. It is more or less the same thickness from top to bottom. It is colored like the cap and usually covered with fine hair-like fibers (fibrillose). There are sometimes downy white fibers, part of the mycelium, at the base. As it ages the stem becomes hollow.

The flesh is thin and the color of the cap but paler. The cap is edible, but care should be taken as it looks like many other mushrooms. The stems are tough and are not considered edible.

The spore print is white.

Similar Species

Habitat and Hosts

A wide variety of habitats. Hardwoods and conifers.

Ecology

Season

Late spring through fall

Distribution

Sources

24, 30, 77, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 4/30/2025).

Laccaria laccata (Scop.) Cooke in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-08-26 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgyy9

Mycology Collections Portal (MyCoPortal) https://www.mycoportal.org/portal/collections/index.php). Accessed 4/30/2025.