Summary:
Hygrophorus pacificus has a strong penetrating aromatic odor. Other features include a viscid cap that is russet to tawny, the margin becoming paler; distant, broad gills that are pale yellowish to creamy buff; a dry stem that is pale yellowish or creamy buff or whitish; a mild taste; and large spores. The description is derived from Hesler(1) except where noted.

Cap:
3-8cm across, convex eventually becoming flat, margin often lobed or notched or wavy and remaining incurved for a long time; 'evenly "russet" to "tawny" when young, at maturity "tawny" on the disc and "pinkish buff" on the margin'; viscid, bald, "margin faintly tomentose under a lens, usually pleated-crenate when unexpanded", (Hesler), "evenly red-brown at first, then red-brown at the center and pinkish buff at the margin", (Stuntz)

Flesh:
rather thin and rigid; whitish

Gills:
adnate or with decurrent tooth, distant, broad (1cm), thick, often forking near cap margin; "marguerite yellow" to "cream buff" when young, "cream color" when old; edges even, (Hesler), gills yellow from the first (Stuntz)

Stem:
4-7cm x 0.8-1.5cm, narrowing at base, solid or sometimes hollow at top; colored as gills or whitish; dry, fibrillose-pruinose on upper half with whitish fibrils, bald and unpolished lower part, (Hesler), pale yellowish or white (Stuntz)

Odor:
strong and penetrating, aromatic, (Hesler), aromatic, not like almond, (Stuntz)

Microscopic spores:
spores 10-14 x 5.5-7.5 microns, elliptic, smooth, inamyloid; basidia 2-spored and 4-spored, 50-82 x 7-9 microns, sterigmata stout; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia absent; gill tissue divergent; clamp connections on cap cuticle and gill trama

Spore deposit:
[presumably white]

Notes:
Hesler(1) examined collections from WA, ID, CA, and NS. There are collections from BC at the University of British Columbia. There are collections from OR at Oregon State University.

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