Agaricaceae species use a wide variety of
fruit body morphology. Although the pileate form (i.e., with a
cap and
stipe) is predominant,
gasteroid and
secotioid forms are known. In pileate species, the
gills are typically thin, and free from attachment to the stipe. Caps are
scurfy to smooth, and range from roughly flat to
umbonate. They typically have a centrally attached stipe and a membrane-like
partial veil. The species formerly classified in the family Lycoperdaceae are also known as the "true
puffballs". Their fruiting bodies are round and are composed of a tough skin surrounding a mass of spores. When they mature, the skin splits open and they release their spores. The
spore print color of Agaricaceae species is highly variable, ranging from white to greenish to ochraceous to pink or sepia; rusty-brown or cinnamon brown colours are absent. Microscopically, the spore surface ranges from smooth to ornamented, and the presence of a
germ pore is variable.
Amyloidity (i.e. sensitivity to
staining in
Melzer's reagent) is also variable. The
basidia (spore-bearing cells) are usually small, four-spored, and may have interspersed
cystidia. ==Genera==