Medium to very large (rarely small) agaric, growing on the ground, with a white, cream to yellow, rarely greenish spore print. Pileus white, pale, yellow, brown, grey, rarely orange, red, pink or green, moist or viscid. Lamellae free, rarely adnexed or adnate. Stipe central, often with bulbous base, with sheathing or scaly, ridged or zoned volva, or volva sometimes lacking (keyed out separately). Partial veil remnants a ring zone, a membranous annulus or absent. Spores hyaline, amyloid or non-amyloid, smooth; germ pore absent. Cheilocystidia present or rarely absent. Lamellar trama bilateral. Pileipellis a cutis, or if universal veil remnants are misinterpreted as the pileipellis, then appearing to be a hymeniderm or epithelium. Clamp connections present or absent.

The universal veil is a key characteristic of Amanita. The veil typically leaves a volva on the stipe base, which can be sheathing, a ridge of tissue, or friable (and then more obvious on young fruit-bodies). Occasionally a volva is lacking (such cases are keyed out separately as Amanita (no volva)). The universal veil leaves a large patch of tissue on the pileus, or else felty squamules or conical warts. With age, the veil remnants on the pileus can disappear. Volvariella, which has a well-developed volva, can have pale lamellae initially, but the mature lamellae are pinkish and the spore print is a rich pinkish brown. Among white-spored genera, a volva is rarely present in Chlorophyllum (C. brunneum), Lepiota (L. aspera) and Macrolepiota (M. eucharis), which all have an annulus and free lamellae; but these species differ from Amanita in the dextrinoid spores and the lamellar trama that is not bilateral. A volva can be present in Porpoloma, which has amyloid spores, but there is no annulus, the lamellae are sinuate and the lamellar trama is regular.

More than 100 species (among the most diverse genera of Australian agarics). There are also several sequestrate (truffle-like) species formerly placed in Torrendia.

Under exotic trees are: A. muscaria (pine, oak, birch), A. phalloides (oak) and A. rubescens (chestnut).

Native species are in nine sections.

Section Amanita (spores non-amyloid, volva usually friable): A. armeniaca, A. bambra, A. conicogrisea, A. crematelloides, A. fibrillopes, A. striatuloides, A. umbrinella, A. umbrinelloides and A. volvarielloides.

Section Amidella (spores amyloid, broadly ellipsoid to elongate, pileus margin not appendiculate, volva saccate in Australian species): A. angustispora, A. clelandii and A. curta.

Section Caesarae (spores non-amyloid, ellipsoid to elongate, annulus membranous, volva saccate): A. egregia, A. egreginus, A. aff. hemibapha, A. pallidofumosa and A. roseolamellata.

Section Lepidella (spores amyloid, ellipsoid to elongate, pileus margin appendiculate, annulus membranous or fugacious, volva not saccate): A. albidannulata, A. albidoides, A. albifimbriata, A. albosquamosa, A. alboverrucosa, A. allostraminea, A. ananaeceps, A. ananaecipitoides, A. annulalbida, A. austrostraminea (= A. straminea), A. austroviridis, A. brunneiphylla, A. carneiphylla, A. chlorophylla, A. conicoverrucosa, A. dumosorum, A. effusa, A. farinacea, A. flaviphylla, A. gossypinoannulata, A. gracilenta, A. griseibrunnea, A. grossa, A. hiltonii, A. kammala, A. luteivolvata, A. nauseosa, A. ochrophylla, A. ochrophylloides, A. ochroterrea, A. ochraceobulbosa, A. pagetodes, A. preissii, A. pyramidifera, A. pyramidiferinus, A. rosea, A. strobilacea and A. subalbida.

Section Mappae (spores amyloid, the only Australian species has bright yellow pileus, annulus membranous, volva not saccate): A. strobilaceoides.

Section Ovigerae (spores non-amyloid, ellipsoid to elongate, annulus usually not membranous, volva saccate): A. murinoflammeum, A. pallidochracea and A. xanthocephala (= A. austropulchella).

Section Phalloideae (spore amyloid, pileus margin not appendiculate, annulus membranous, volva usually saccate): A. austrophalloides, A. brunneibulbosa, A. brunneistriatula, A. eucalypti, A. marmorata, A. murina and A. murinaster.

Section Vaginatae (spores non-amyloid, globose to subglobose, annulus lacking and volva saccate in Australian species): A. albovolvata, A. cinereoannulosa, A. illudens, A. pallidobrunnea, A. punctata, A. sordidobubalina, A. subvaginata and A. vaginata.

Section Validae (spores amyloid, ellipsoid to elongate, annulus usually membranous, volva not saccate): A. basibulbosa, A. basiorubra, A. austrobulbosa (= A. bulbosa), A. cinerascens, A. conicobulbosa, A. elongatospora, A. flavella, A. fuscobrunnea, A. fuscosquamosa, A. grisea, A. grisella, A. griselloides, A. griseoconia, A. griseovelata, A. ingwa, A. kalamundi, A. luteofusca, A. luteolovelata, A. pallidogrisea, A. peltigera, A. sordidogrisea, A. sublutea, A. variabilis and A. walpolei.

Some of the species listed above can lack a volva, or the volva can be difficult to see> Consequently there is a separate entry in the key for Amanita (no volva).

All States and Territories.

In native forests, from the arid interior to cool-temperate rainforest. A few species are associated with exotic trees (such as oak, birch, beech or pine) in gardens, parks and plantations.

On the ground.

Ectomycorrhizal.

Bas, C. (1969), Morphology and subdivision of Amanita and a monograph of its section Lepidella, Persoonia 5: 285–579. [Description, B&W Illustration and Microcharacters of A. ananaeceps, A. austrostraminea (as A. straminea), A. conicobulbosa, A. farinacea, A. grossa, A. nauseosa, A. ochrophylla, A. ochroterrea, A. preissii, A. strobilacea, A. subalbida and A. sublutea, and Key to species of section Lepidella worldwide]

Bougher, N.L. (2009a), Fungi of the Perth region and beyond: a self-managed field book, Western Australian Naturalists' Club (Inc.), Perth. [Description and Illustration of A. carneiphylla, A. ochroterrea, A. umbrinella, A. xanthocephala and several Amanita sp.]

Bougher, N.L. & Syme, K. (1998), Fungi of Southern Australia. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands. [Description, Illustration and Microcharacters of A. ananiceps, A. austroviridis, A. basiorubra, A. carneiphylla, A, eucalypti, A. flaviphylla, A. ochrophylloides, A. umbrinella and A. xanthocephala]

Breitenbach, J. & Kränzlin, F. (eds) (1995), Fungi of Switzerland. Volume 4. Agarics 2nd part. Edition Mykologia, Lucerne. [Illustration, Description and Microcharacters of 24 extra-limital species, including A. muscaria, A. rubescens and A. phalloides]

Brundrett, M., Bougher, N., Dell, B., Grove, T. & Malajczuk, N. (1996), Working with Mycorrhizas in Forestry and Agriculture. ACIAR Monograph 32. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. [Illustration of A. cf. hemibapha]

Fuhrer, B. (2005), A Field Guide to Australian Fungi. Bloomings Books, Hawthorn. [Description and Illustration of A. ananiceps, A. cinereoannulosa, A. farinacea, A. grisella, A. muscaria, A. ochrophylla, A. ochrophylloides, A. phalloides, A. punctata, A. umbrinella and A. xanthocephala]

Fuhrer, B. & Robinson, R. (1992), Rainforest Fungi of Tasmania and South-east Australia. CSIRO Press, East Melbourne. [Illustration of A. muscaria]

Grey, P. & Grey, E. (2005), Fungi Down Under. Fungimap, South Yarra. [Description, Illustration and Map for A. austroviridis, A. muscaria, A. phalloides and A. xanthocephala]

Gentilli, J. (1953), Amanitas from Kings Park, Perth, W. Austral. Naturalist 4: 25–34, 59–63 [Description, B&W Illustrations and Microcharacters of A. conicobulbosa, A. loricata (invalid name), A. ochroterrea (as var. of preissii), A. preissii, A. umbrinella and A. xanthocephala (as A. pulchella)]

Grgurinovic, C.A. (1997a), Larger Fungi of South Australia. The Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and State Herbarium and The Flora and Fauna of South Australia Handbooks Committee, Adelaide. [Description and Microcharacters of A. bambra, A. angustispora, A. austrobulbosa (as A. bulbosa), A. clelandi, A. cinereoannulosa, A. conicobulbosa, A. grisella, A. grossa, A. ingwa, A. kammala, A. luteofusca, A. muscaria, A. ochrophylla, A. rubescens, A. subalbida, A. sublutea, A. variabilis and A. xanthocephala, along with Illustration of A. muscaria, A. ochrophylla and A. xanthocephala, and Key to South Australian species]

McCann, I.R. (2003), Australian Fungi Illustrated. Macdown Productions, Vermont. [Illustration of A. ananiceps, A. farinacea, A grisella, A. muscaria and A. xanthocephala, as well as several unidentified species]

Miller, O.K., Jr (1991), New species of Amanita from Western Australia, Canad. J. Bot. 69: 2692–2703. [Description, B&W Illustrations and Microcharacters of A. albifimbriata, A. brunneibulbosa, A. brunneiphylla, A. brunneistriatula, A. carneiphylla, A. eucalypti, A. fibrillopes, A. flaviphylla, A. griseibrunnea, A. kalamundi and A. walpolei]

Miller, O.K., Jr (1992), Three new species of Amanita from Western Australia, Mycologia 84: 679–686. [Description, B&W Illustrations and Microcharacters of A. austroviridis, A. basiorubra and A. luteivolvata]

Reid, D.A. (1980), A monograph of the Australian species of Amanita Pers. ex Hook. (Fungi), Austral. J. Bot., Suppl. Ser. 8: 1–96. [Description and Microcharacters, along with Key to 46 species of Australian Amanita, along with Illustrations of A. ananiceps, A. griselloides, A. griseoconia, A. griseovelata, A. luteofusca, A. luteolovelata (as var. of A. grisella), A. murina, A. ochrophylla, A. pagetodes, A. punctata, A. rosea and A. xanthocephala (as A. austropulchella)]

Ridley, G.S. (1991), The New Zealand species of Amanita (Fungi: Agaricales), Austral. Syst. Bot. 4: 325–354. [Description, B&W Illustrations and Microcharacters, along with Key to 14 species of Amanita from New Zealand, including A. muscaria and A. phalloides]

Tulloss, R.E. (1997), Provisional world key to species closely related to Amanita hemibapha with notes on the slender caesar's mushrooms of eastern north America, McIlvainea 13: 46–53. [Key to species in the A. hemibapha complex, with brief morphological data, including two unnamed species from Australia and A. egregia]

Tulloss, R.E. & Yang, Z.-L. (eds) (2013), Amanitaceae studies, http://www.amanitaceae.org/ [Description and Microcharacters, along with some Illustrations and B&W Illustrations of species of the genus worldwide, including those from Australia]

Tulloss, R.E., Young, A.M. & Wood, A.E. (1995), Amanita murinoflammeum - a new species from dry forests of eastern Australia, Mycotaxon 56: 295–302. [Description, B&W Illustrations and Microcharacters of A. murinoflammea]

Wood, A.E. (1997), Studies in the genus Amanita (Agaricales) in Australia, Austral. Syst. Bot. 10: 723–854. [Description, B&W Illustrations and Microcharacters, along with Key to 67 species of Australian Amanita]

Young, A.M. (2005b), A Field Guide to the Fungi of Australia. University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. [Description and Illustration of A. ananiceps, A. muscaria, A. ochrophylla and A. phalloides, and Description and B&W Illustration of A. farinacea, A. nauseosa, A. punctata and A. xanthocephala]