Rosy Gomphidius or Rosy Spike Cap
A colorful inhabitant of conifer forests, this rosy red to coral pink mushroom is quite viscid with a peelable cap and slime layer that covers cap and gills and leaves a slime layer on the stalk. Caps are usually under 3 inches and solitary to scattered. The gills are white and run deeply down the stalk, dropping a black spore print and becoming blackish as the spores mature. The stalks often boast a yellow lower portion, though it is not always the case. Stipes are white and the flesh of both cap and stipe is white. Intriguingly species of Gomphidius are members of the Boletales order, having coevolved with them. It turns out they are parasitic on species of Suillus, themselves usually slimy. Suillus is ectomycorrhizal with conifers and Gomphidius taps into some of the tree nutrients meant for the Suillus associates. Often, but not exclusively, Gomphidius parasitizes Suillus lakei in the PNW.