Conservation Status: Not of concern

C. alboviolaceus is a medium-sized species with a broadly umbonate silky fibrillose cap that is silvery bluish to bluish white at first then develops yellowish tones and often becomes grayish white. Under moist conditions the surface can be viscid. The gills are pale grayish brown or sometimes slightly bluish at first. The stipe is usually club-shaped and colored like the cap; the white veil sometimes leaves faint zones or a thin covering over its lower portion. The flesh is whitish to pale blue-lilac, and the odor and taste are not distinctive. The spores are distinctly ornamented, ellipsoid, and 8.5--10 x 6--6.5 μm. C. alboviolaceus is sometimes confused with C. camphoratus, which also is sometimes common in our conifer forests, however, the latter has a penetrating, sickening odor similar to rotting potatoes. C. malachius also is somewhat similar to C. alboviolaceus but it has a grayish white to grayish brown cap that may have lilac colors when young, and with a finely scaly surface when dry.

Sources: Trudell, Steve and Joe Ammirati. Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Timber Press, Inc. 2009.