Clitocybe glacialis
Clitocybe glacialis is a species of mushroom in the family Tricholomataceae. Formerly known as Lyophyllum montanum, this is a snowbank mushroom, always associated with melting snow along snowbanks and thus glacialis. Originally described by Alexander H. Smith in 1957, this North American species is typically found growing under conifers on mountains.
Taxonomy
The original specimen was collected in the Medicine Bow Mountains in Wyoming by mycologist Harry D. Thiers. In 1957, Alexander H. Smith, who had received the specimen from Thiers, described it as Lyophyllum montanum, placing it in the genus Lyophyllum because of its dark gray color and gills that became ash-gray with age. However, it later became clear that this species lacked siderophilous granules—iron-absorbing particles that darken when heated in acetocarmine—a trait characteristic of other Lyophyllum species. For this reason, Redhead et al. in 2000 moved the species to the genus Clitocybe as C. glacialis. They speculated that the dark pigmentation may be an adaptation to protect against the higher levels of ultraviolet radiation present in their montane environments.Description
Fruiting bodies produced by this fungus have caps that are in diameter; the shape is convex to flattened. The cap surface is initially a silvery-gray, but becomes yellow or yellow-brown with age. Younger specimens may have a whitish surface bloom which may slough off in age.[image:Clitocybe glacialis gills.jpg|thumb|The gills]
The gills are gray to dark gray and closely spaced together; the attachment to the stem is adnate to almost free. The stem is colored like the cap, measuring long and thick, and is either cylindrical or slightly larger at the base, which is covered by white strands.
Its odor is pleasant, but its flavour is not distinctive.