I got an order of Wine Cap spawn from Mushroom Mountain the other day, and in the package was a pamphlet on growing Wood Blewits (Clitocybe nuda, also Lepista nuda). Out of curiosity, I read more on their identification and habitat, and today I was glad I did. I went on a walk with a fellow mycophile today and we found what I believe are Wood Blewits growing in three different locations.
I took one home with me so I could take a spore print. Here's the photos I took of the shroom.
For identification, I consulted my copy of A Field Guide to Southern Mushrooms (Weber and Smith), my Peterson field guide to mushrooms, plus a number of identification guides online.
Based on the spore print, time of year (cool weather), habitat, and mushroom features (color, wider at base of stem, etc.), I feel pretty confident that this is Clitocybe nuda.
I want to get a second opinion before I eat it, though. There's good reason to be extra cautious with this mushroom, because Wood Blewits have poisonous lookalikes in the Cortinarius genus. I read in a number of places that they're not a mushroom for beginning foragers.
Also, Wood Blewits contain compounds that can make you sick, but they're destroyed by cooking, so just make sure they're well cooked. And last but not least, with any new mushroom it's a good idea to eat just a little the first time around to make sure it agrees with your digestive system.
If I get a positive ID I'll go back and harvest some of the others I found, because I'd like to try this mushroom which is said to be excellent. I might even consider growing it in my yard.