Small to large agaric, growing on the ground, with a white or cream to yellow spore print. Pileus white, pale, yellow, brown, grey, rarely red or pink or black, not viscid; with scales, often denser at the centre. Lamellae remote or free. Stipe central. Partial veil remnants a membranous annulus, rarely a ring zone. Spores hyaline, dextrinoid, smooth; germ pore absent. Cheilocystidia present. Lamellar trama regular. Pileipellis a trichoderm, a hymeniderm or rarely a cutis. Clamp connections present or rarely absent (apparently in L. exocarpi).

Clamp connections are always lacking in Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus. The former tends to have a smooth (not squamulose) pileus, and the latter has a pleated pileus margin. All species of Macrolepiota have large fruit-bodies and spores with a germ pore, as do most species of Chlorophyllum. In Cystoderma fruit-bodies always occur among moss, and the spores are amyloid. In Lepiota aspera the pileipellis is an epithelium.

About ten species, with many others to be expected: Lepiota clypeolaria, L. elaiophylla (= L. xanthophylla in the sense of some authors), L. exocarpi, L. fuliginosa, L. fuscosquamea, L. lepidophora, L. micropholis, L. subcristata and L. rimosa.

Several species lacking clamp connections that were included by Grgurinovic (1997) in Lepiota (L. albofibrillosa, L. booloola and L. piterika) are excluded, pending more information on characters to allow assessment of generic position, particularly in respect of Leucogaricus and Leucocoprinus, which lack clamp connections. Two species with amyloid spores (L. cinnamomea and L. kammala) are also excluded pending confirmation of their generic placement.

W.A., S.A., Qld, N.S.W., Vic. and Tas. (and probably also N.T.).

In native forests or in parks and gardens, sometimes in greenhouses.

On the ground.

Saprotrophic.

Aberdeen, J.E.C. (1992), Lepiotoid Genera (Agaricales) in South-eastern Queensland. Aberdeen Publications, Gailes, Queensland. [Description, sketchy B&W Illustration and Microcharacters of L. clypeolaria, L. exocarpi, L. fuliginosa, L. fuscosquamea and L. rimosa]

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 L. exocarpi]

Breitenbach, J. & Kränzlin, F. (eds) (1995), Fungi of Switzerland. Volume 4. Agarics 2nd part. Edition Mykologia, Lucerne. [Illustration, Description and Microcharacters of L. clypeolaria and L. elaiophylla (as L. xanthophylla) and 22 other species from Europe]

Fuhrer, B. (2005), A Field Guide to Australian Fungi. Bloomings Books, Hawthorn. [Description and Illustration of several unnmaed species]

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

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 L. exocarpi, L. fuliginosa and L. subcristata, along with Illustration of L. exocarpi and Key to South Australian species]

Horak, E. (1980d), On Australasian species of Lepiota S.F.Gray (Agaricales) with spurred spores, Sydowia 33: 111–144. [Microcharacters of L. exocarpi]

Pegler, D.N. (1986), Agaric flora of Sri Lanka, Kew Bull., Addit. Ser. 12: 1–519. [Description, B&W Illustration and Microcharacters of L. lepidophora and L. micropholis]