William Bridge Cooke was the first to discuss the snowbank fungi as a distinct ecological group in 1944 when he discussed the fungal flora of Mount Shasta in California. He followed this with another publication 11 years later. In his 1975 book A Field Guide to Western Mushrooms, Alexander H. Smith discussed what he called the snowbank flora, noting It seems obvious to me that the species in this group are well established throughout the forest zone, and have adjusted to this fruiting pattern, possibly as a response to the habitat drying out and warming up as summer progresses.