Help with mushroom identification - this small mushroom was found near Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, in mid-September. The gills are red, and the top is very unusual. Growing on the ground in mixed conifers (pine & spruce), with a few aspen & birch nearby. Any help would be appreciated!
Whoa! Have not ever seen a mushroom like yours. I do not have an ID (fear not, Frog and/or MycoRob will)---but I did discover a mushroom ID site that is fascinating: http://www.mycokey.com/newMycoKeySite/MycoKeyIdentQuick.html
Looks like a purple cortinarius with an atypical pileus. If there were more than one of these that looked like this, then I'd have a different answer. Maybe you can revisit the area next year to see if you have some more mutant mushrooms?
I will revisit the area next year - normally we have quite a dry climate, but this year was unusually wet for much of the summer, and there were mushrooms everywhere! I had a hunch too that this might just be an unusual growth form, but it has been freezing at night, and alas our mushroom season has largely come to an end for the year. Thanks for the help!
