Spring Agaricus

 Posted by Joe M,

When looking for morels in the woods at 6,000 feet, I found a white mushroom. When I picked it,  I was surprised to see that it had a ring and pink-brown gills that I recognized on sight as Agaricus. It had a big skirt, and some yellow spots on the top. By the time I got home the annulus was damaged, so I had trouble identifying the species. A made a point a few days later to try to find more, I went up and I was lucky. I took some pictures immediately:

I believe that they are Agaricus albolutenscens.  

They arrive a few weeks after the snow has melted, they stain amber permanently, unlike A. Xanthoderma that fades to brown) They have a thick large skirt annulus, stocky stature, solid semi-bulbous stem, that separates them from A. silvicola, and they smell sweet like anise. Most authors list them as choice edible with caution.