Natural History Overview
These fungi are referred to as members of the “snowbank mycota” (Trudell and Ammirati 2009). This means these mushrooms fruit as soon as snow recedes. Arora (1986) notes “it begins developing while under the snow”. The embedded photos are from March. It looks more cup-like initially (photo below) and flattens out as it ages.
There are about a dozen species in this genus that are very similar looking identified with certainty by microscope (Arora 1986). Phillips (2010) detailed spores from this and other Ascomycetes are ejected from sacs growing on the surface. More traditional ‘stem and capped’ mushrooms, Basidiomycetes, have spores simply fall to the ground from gills or pores.
