Asian deceiver

Identity and name

Laccaria vinaceoavellanea is a species of the genus Laccaria, whose type species is L. laccata, known as the deceiver. The genus table on Wikipedia gives the 1971 authority Hongo. The catalogue records the common name Asian deceiver; the sources reviewed did not use that name, so it is recorded here as a catalogue label only.

A 2025 study describes four new Laccaria species from Yunnan with morphological and molecular data. It is a separate study and does not revise this species, so its status is not settled by that paper.

Habitat and supply

The catalogue describes the species as an ectomycorrhizal forest fungus, sold as a small wild mushroom. Cultivation is not recorded.

Market and food use

A review cited in the search results lists L. vinaceoavellanea among the commercial mushrooms of Sichuan Province, and the catalogue records it as sold as food in Yunnan. A Dali University taxonomic paper states that all currently known Laccaria species are considered edible. The sources do not give a preparation for this species.

Arsenic and safety

A 2014 study found high arsenic in this species. Caps contained a mean of 130 to 163 mg per kg dry weight, and the authors describe the species as an arsenic accumulator. They estimated that one 300 g fresh-weight meal eaten once a week could give an arsenic exposure of 3.9 to 4.9 mg.

Identification and safety: a name, a photograph or one regional guide does not confirm that a wild specimen is this species. This page is not a collection key. Edibility statements refer to the named species as understood by each source, not any particular specimen. Because of the arsenic finding, the sources do not support treating this species as a routine food, and no quantity or frequency is advised here.