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Species Information
Summary: Features include a grayish or brownish gray, viscid cap; waxy, white to grayish gills; a dry, white to gray-tinged stem, an almond odor, and an association with conifers. At least some of the collections we have been identifying as this species match DNA with Hygrophorus odoratus rather than H. agathosmus; H. agathosmus does appear to occur in BC but it may be a circumpolar species, (D. Miller, pers. comm.) Whichever name is correct, it is fairly common in the Pacific Northwest.
Hesler(1) examined collections from WA, OR, ID, CA, CO, MD, MI, NJ, WY, Bavaria, Belgium, Netherlands, and Denmark. It has been found in Africa, Asia, and Europe including Switzerland (Breitenbach(3)). There are collections from BC at the University of British Columba and Pacific Forestry Center.
Cap: 3-10cm across, convex with incurved margin, to flat or with margin uplifted; dull gray to ashy gray, brownish gray, or at times grayish olive; "smooth, viscid when moist", (Arora), (3)4-8(11)cm across, convex to obtuse with inrolled margin, becoming flat or with disc slightly depressed when old, sometimes remaining slightly umbonate; evenly "light drab" or a dull ashy gray, not fading much but sometimes with watery zones or spots near margin; glutinous to viscid, bald, margin very faintly tomentose, (Hesler)
Flesh: soft; whitish, (Arora), soft; whitish or watery gray, (Hesler)
Gills: "adnate to slightly decurrent, close or well-spaced, soft, waxy"; white or sometimes grayish when old, (Arora), adnate, becoming adnate-decurrent, close to distant (40-50 reaching stem), moderately narrow, rather thin; white becoming sordid grayish when old, (Hesler)
Stem: 4-10(16)cm x 0.5-1.5(2)cm, equal or narrowing downward; white or tinged gray; smooth, not viscid, (Arora), 4-8(16)cm x 0.6-1.4(2.5)cm, equal or narrowing toward base, solid; whitish at first, pale ashy when old; "dry or moist but no gelatinous universal veil present, evenly fibrillose pruinose over all at first", becoming bald, (Hesler)
Veil: absent (Arora)
Odor: "sweet, like almond extract (but sometimes faint)", (Arora), fragrant and very pronounced, of bitter almonds, occasionally the odor weak, or also described as like celery or anise, (Hesler)
Taste: mild (Hesler)
Microscopic spores: spores 7-10.5 x 4.5-5.5 microns, elliptic, smooth, (Arora), spores (7)8-10.5 x 4.5-5.5 microns, elliptic, smooth, inamyloid; basidia 4-spored, 48-65 x 6-8 microns; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia none; gill tissue divergent; clamp connections of hyphae of gill trama, not cap cuticle or cap trama, (Hesler)
Spore deposit: white (Arora)
Habitat / Range
scattered to gregarious under conifers; partial to spruce but associated locally with Douglas-fir, (Arora), scattered under Picea (spruce) and Pinus (pine) and in mixed woods, especially in pastures around scattered spruce, (Hesler), summer to fall (Buczacki)
Similar Species
Hygrophorus odoratus has an almond odor but has a smaller, yellowish tinged cap, a more slender white stem that yellows on handling, and slightly larger spores, (Largent). Hygrophorus pacificus has an aromatic odor but the cap is a different color of brown, (Largent). Hygrophorus bakerensis, H. monticola and H. variicolor all have almond odor, but they have differently colored caps, (Largent). Hygrophorus camarophyllus is somewhat similar but it does not have an almond odor. See also SIMILAR section of Hygrophorus pustulatus.
