Based on macro- and micromorphology, later authors gradually refined the generic concept of Lepiota. Some unrelated genera, such as Cystoderma (Fayod 1889) and Limacella (Earle 1909), were removed from the genus whilst several related genera, including Leucocoprinus (Patouillard 1888), Macrolepiota and Leucoagaricus (Singer 1948), Cystolepiota (Singer 1952), and Echinoderma (Bon 1991) were separated off. These segregated genera, together with Lepiota itself, are still often grouped together as Lepiota s.l. (sensu lato = "in the wide sense") or as the "lepiotoid" fungi.[4][5][6][7]
The secotioid species Amogaster viridiglebus, described in 1996 and initially placed in the order Boletales,[8] was later determined to be a member of Lepiota, and officially transferred to the genus in 2013.[9]
Fruit bodies of Lepiota species are almost all agaricoid (Lepiota viridigleba is the sole sequestrate species in the genus[9]), most (but not all) having comparatively small caps (less than 10 cm (4 in) in diameter) and slender stems. The cap cuticle (surface skin) typically splits as the cap expands, breaking up into concentric rings of scales towards the margin. The gills beneath the cap are white to cream (rarely yellow) and are free (not joined to the stem). The gills are covered by a partial veil when young, which typically ruptures to leave a cuff-like ring (sometimes ephemeral) often with additional scaly remains on the stem. Several species have a distinct, often rubbery, smell. The spore print is white to cream. The spores are usually (but not always) dextrinoid (turning red-brown in an iodine-based reagent).[4][15]
Most if not all Lepiota species are nitrophilic, with a preference for calcareous soils. They typically occur in rich humus in broadleaf or conifer woodland, in northern Europe often among nettles (Urtica dioica) or dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis). A few species are more frequently found in calcareous grassland or in dunes.[15] The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, but with a preference for warm areas, meaning there are fewer species in colder climates. Around 400 species are currently recognized worldwide.[16]
No comprehensive monograph of the genus has yet been published. In Europe, however, species of Lepiota were illustrated and described in a regional guide by Candusso & Lanzoni (1990)[4] and more briefly in descriptive keys by Bon (1993).[15] Dutch species were illustrated and described by Vellinga (2001).[24] No equivalent modern guides have been published for North America, but Vellinga (2008) has published an online bibliography of the relevant literature.[25] In Australia, a guide to the Lepiota species of south-eastern Queensland was published by Aberdeen (1992).[6] In Asia, a study of Lepiota diversity in northern Thailand revealed 73 species.[26]
^ abcCandusso M, Lanzoni G (1990). Fungi Europaei 4: Lepiota s.l.. Alassio, Italy: Edizioni Candusso. p. 743.
^ abJohnson J, Vilgalys R (1998). "Phylogenetic systematics of Lepiota sensu lato based on nuclear large subunit rDNA evidence". Mycologia. 90 (6): 971–979. doi:10.2307/3761269. JSTOR3761269.
^ abAberdeen EC. (2001). Lepiotoid genera (Agaricales) in south-eastern Queensland. Gailes, Queensland: Aberdeen Publications. p. 34. ISBN978-0-9596526-4-2.
^Bon M. (1991). "Les genres Echinoderma (Locq. ex Bon) st. nov. et Rugosomyces Raithelhuber ss lato". Documents Mycologiques (in French). 21 (82): 61–66.
^ abGe Z-W, Smith ME (2013). "Phylogenetic analysis of rDNA sequences indicates that the sequestrate Amogaster viridiglebus is derived from within the agaricoid genus Lepiota (Agaricaceae)". Mycological Progress. 12 (1): 151–5. Bibcode:2013MycPr..12..151G. doi:10.1007/s11557-012-0841-y. S2CID18543761.
^Donk MA. (1962). "The generic names proposed for Agaricaceae". Beihefte zur Nova Hedwigia. 5: 1–320. ISSN0078-2238.
^Rea C. (1922). British Basidiomycetaceae: a handbook of the larger British fungi. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 799.
^ abcdBon M. (1993). Flore mycologique d'Europe 3: Les Lepiotes. Amiens Cedex: CRDP de Picardie. p. 153.
^Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CABI. ISBN978-0-85199-826-8.
^Benjamin DR. (1995). Mushrooms, poisons and panaceas: A handbook for naturalists, mycologists, and physicians. New York: W H Freeman & Co. p. 422. ISBN978-0-7167-2649-4.
^Ben Khelil M, et al. (2010). "Intoxication mortelle par Lepiota brunneoincarnata : à propos de 4 cas". Annales de Biologie Clinique. 68 (5): 561–567. doi:10.1684/abc.2010.0467. PMID20870578.
^Boiffard J. (1987). "Une intoxication familiale par Lepiota brunneolilacea". Documents Mycologiques. 69: 21–23.
^ abPaydas, S; et al. (1990). "Poisoning due to amatoxin-containing Lepiota species". British Journal of Clinical Practice. 44 (11): 450–453. PMID2282295.
^Işiloğlu M, Watling R (1991). "Poisonings by Lepiota helveola Bres. in southern Turkey". Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 48: 91–100. doi:10.1017/S0960428600003668.
