This is so much fun and my id book (Audobon Field Guide to North American Mushrooms) doesn't help much, so...2 more Carson National Forest, Taos, New Mexico, USA 8000 ft asl (~2400m) Pine/Fir forest floor.
Greetings from Mora, NM - also at 8000 ft. I am new to these mountains and to this website. I have not yet seen your mushrooms, but my husband and I went searching last evening and found small (2 in. dia.) straw-colored mushrooms with slim stalks and yellow, sponge-like gills. Any info? (see entry) Carole (grndenim@nnmt.net)
Hi Carole, If you think you're going to be looking for fungi a lot, I recommend getting the book "Mushrooms of Colorado and the southern Rocky Mountiins" by Vera Evenson. One bookstore here in Taos has it (either Brodsky books or Moby Dickens, I can't remember). Get it quick, peak is right now. Identifying fungi _with_ photos is difficult enough, I won't even try to guess based on words. When you do post a photo, also mention the enviroment you found it in (substrate, altitude, species of surrounding trees...). Also, I recommend you edit your last post. Change your email address to "grndenim at nnmt dot net". This way it is more protected from bot collection, but it is still readable to a human. Not sure what you mean by (see entry)
Sounds like a small Suillus or, as the group of fleshy mushrooms having pores instead of gills is more commonly called, a Bolete. Some of them can be very slimy. The Slippery Jack (Suillus luteus) get's it's name for precisely that quality. Here's a key to the genus.
Wish I could help, but..... Not to mention that I wish I were up there checking out the scenery as well. Must be fantastic. But unfortunately, I can't do either one. To feel at all comfortable making an ID of a mushroom, I like to be able to see the stalk and underside of the cap. The presence or not of a partial veil ( cortina in Cortinarius), or pores instead of gills (as in the Suillus post lower down) is important to an accurate identification, and unfortunately, that's where they are found. A few are so unique that it's not necessary (Amanita muscaria for instance), but otherwise....sorry ;-(. So why make this post, some other's might be saying? Well....to encourage others to try to capture the above characteristics in either a photo, words, or any combination thereof. (and why do I suddenly feel like a defence lawyer?) In any case, show us more! More mushrooms and more of their undy-bits! Mirrors on the toes of your shoes can be useful here, but be very sure to to remove them before returning to the university.;-)
