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Lepiota
 
 
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Lepiota is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of gilled mushroom
Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have a stem , a cap , and gills on the unde...
s, in the order Agaricales
Agaricales

The order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms , or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The Order has about 4,000 identified species, or one quarter of all known Agaricomycetes....
. Though they have white spores, they are related to the familiar brown spored mushrooms of the genus Agaricus
Agaricus

Agaricus is a large and important genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with possibly over 300 members worldwide....
. They typically have rings on the stems, which in larger species are detachable and glide up and down the stem. The cap usually has scales: the colours of the cap, gills and scales are important in determining the exact species, as is sometimes the smell.

The term is likely derived from the Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 ?ep??, "scale".






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Lepiota is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of gilled mushroom
Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have a stem , a cap , and gills on the unde...
s, in the order Agaricales
Agaricales

The order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms , or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The Order has about 4,000 identified species, or one quarter of all known Agaricomycetes....
. Though they have white spores, they are related to the familiar brown spored mushrooms of the genus Agaricus
Agaricus

Agaricus is a large and important genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with possibly over 300 members worldwide....
. They typically have rings on the stems, which in larger species are detachable and glide up and down the stem. The cap usually has scales: the colours of the cap, gills and scales are important in determining the exact species, as is sometimes the smell.

The term is likely derived from the Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 ?ep??, "scale". The basionym is Agaricus sect. Lepiota Pers.
Christian Hendrik Persoon

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon was a mycologist who made additions to Carolus Linnaeus' mushroom taxonomy....
 1797, devalidated by later starting date, so the citation is (Pers.) per S.F.Gray. It was only described, without species, and covered an earlier mentioned, but unnamed group of ringed, non-volvate species, regardless of spore color. The Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries

Elias Magnus Fries was a Sweden mycologist and botanist born at Femsj? in Sm?land....
 restricted the genus to white-spored species, and made into a tribe, which was, like Amanita
Amanita

The genus Amanita contains about 600 species of agarics including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities resulting from mushroom poisoning, with the death cap accounting for about 50% on its own....
, repeatedly raised to genus rank.

The type species is unclear. L. procera is considered the type by Earle in 1909. Agaricus columbrinus (L. clypeolaria) was also suggested (by Singer, 1946) to avoid the many combination involved otherwise in splitting Macrolepiota
Macrolepiota

Macrolepiota is a genus of white spored gilled mushrooms of the family Lepiotaceae. The best known member is the parasol mushroom .Recent DNA studies have split this genus into two clades....
, which include L. procera. Since both species had been placed into different genera prior to their selection (in Leucocoprinus
Leucocoprinus

Leucocoprinus is a genus of mushrooms in the family Agaricaceae. Its best known member is the yellow pot-plant mushroom , found worldwide. The type species is Leucocoprinus cepistipes....
 and Mastocephalus respectively), Donk observes that a conservation will probably be needed, expressing support for Singer's emendation.

With respect to mushrooming
Mushroom hunting

Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking and similar terms describe the activity of hunter-gatherer mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating....
, this is a genus to be avoided as several species contain amanitins and are highly toxic. Those known to have caused death (or would have caused death except for intensive medical therapy) include L. josserandi in upstate New York
Upstate New York

Upstate New York is the region of New York north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of New York State's total 18,976,457....
 in 1986, , L. brunneoincarnata
Lepiota brunneoincarnata

Lepiota brunneoincarnata, also known as the deadly dapperling, is a gilled mushroom of the genus Lepiota in the order Agaricales. It is known to contain amatoxins and consuming this fungus can be a potentially lethal proposition....
 in Spain, and L. helveola.

Previously, the most familiar species were the larger species, such as the parasol mushroom
Parasol mushroom

The parasol mushroom is a basidiomycota fungus with a large, prominent fruiting body resembling a lady's parasol. It is a fairly common species on well-drained soils....
 and the shaggy parasol
Shaggy parasol

The Shaggy parasol is the common name for two closely related species of mushrooms, Chlorophyllum rhacodes and C. brunneum, found in North America and Europe ....
. However, these have now been placed in the different genera Macrolepiota
Macrolepiota

Macrolepiota is a genus of white spored gilled mushrooms of the family Lepiotaceae. The best known member is the parasol mushroom .Recent DNA studies have split this genus into two clades....
 and Chlorophyllum
Chlorophyllum

The genus 'Chlorophyllum' is a small genus of large agarics similar in appearance to the true parasol mushroom. The best known members are the edible shaggy parasol, a name applied to two very similar species Chlorophyllum rhacodes and C....
. However the status of the genera is not unanimous as some current books still leave the members of Macrolepiota in Lepiota.

List of Lepiota species

  • Lepiota aspera
    Lepiota aspera

    Lepiota aspera; sometimes known commonly as the Freckled Dapperling, is a large brownish; white gilled mushroom, with a warty or scaly cap....
     - freckled dapperling
  • Hazard T
     Lepiota brunneoincarnata
    Lepiota brunneoincarnata

    Lepiota brunneoincarnata, also known as the deadly dapperling, is a gilled mushroom of the genus Lepiota in the order Agaricales. It is known to contain amatoxins and consuming this fungus can be a potentially lethal proposition....
     - deadly dapperling
  • Hazard T
     Lepiota castanea - chestnut dapperling
  • Poisonous Toxicity Icon
     Lepiota clypeolaria - shield dapperling
  • Poisonous Toxicity Icon
     Lepiota cristata - star dapperling, stinking parasol (Europe, North America)
  • Hazard T
     Lepiota helveola
  • Hazard T
     Lepiota heteri
  • Hazard T
     Lepiota josserandi - deadly parasol (North America)
  • Hazard T
     Lepiota scobinella
  • Hazard T
     Lepiota subincarnata - fatal dapperling