I found these two mushrooms today while hiking near Mt. Sopris, in Western Colorado, near Aspen. It was about 8000 feet, and on the ground under coniferous trees. I'm sure that there was snow here a few weeks earlier. Even though some of these photos are reddish, the tile and napkin under the mushrooms should be white. The mushrooms are white with a little bit of tan. Tricholoma dryophilum perhaps? Although that is a fall-growing mushroom. Photos:
They do look very Tricholomoid. But it doesn't look like these have the notched gills characteristic of Tricholoma. Do they have a distinctive odor or taste? You could try running this through Ian Gibson's Matchmaker http://www.pfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/biodiversity/matchmaker/index_e.html I've seen a couple of fall mushrooms recently, so it looks like the wierd weather and temperatures are causing some changes in fruiting patterns.
Yeah, it's a little hard to place. I don't have any spore prints since it's too dry (although a tiny maggot did fall out. I didn't notice really any odor, and wasn't about to try tasting it (which is all the better if it had bugs in it) I'll try the matchmaker some more and maybe I'll find something. Thanks for the good tip. Can weird weather really make fruiting patterns change so much? We've had a ton of snow this winter. In fact I skied just last Sunday on Aspen Mountain!
The relationship between weather patterns and mushrooms is still pretty much a mystery it seems. Some things have been studied: There is detailed information on the pattern of rain and warmth and the fruiting of pine mushrooms, and to a lesser extent for morels and chanterelles, and I expect for other commercially harvested mushrooms. Mycorrhizal mushrooms are tied to the seasonal cycle of their plant partner ... but again, we've been seeing fall fruiting mushrooms coming up in April. This year's morel hunting has been delayed until now in most areas, due, it appears, to snow. Strange and endlessly interesting beasties eh :-)
I've been finding mushrooms that look very similar to yours here in the Rocky Mountains. Mine are Hygrophorus subalpinus - which i actually go out and look for in the month of June at 9000-10000 feet in elevation. Yours look like a dead ringer for H. subalpinus.
