Small to large agaric, growing on the ground, rarely in litter or mulch or on wood, with a white or cream to yellow spore print. Pileus white, pale, yellow, brown, rarely green, not viscid, with rather thin flesh and a plicate margin. Lamellae remote or free. Stipe central. Partial veil remnants a ring zone or a membranous annulus. Spores hyaline or pale, dextrinoid, smooth; germ pore absent, narrow or broad. Cheilocystidia present. Lamellar trama regular. Pileipellis a trichoderm, rarely a cutis or an epithelium. Clamp connections absent.

Leucoagaricus is very similar, but Australian species lack the plicate pileus margin and often have strong red stains to the lamellae when bruised. Lepiota has clamp connections and spores without a germ pore, and it also generally lacks a plicate pileus margin. Young specimens of Parasola or Bolbitius with pale lamellae could be confused with Leucocoprinus, but the spore print is dark. Chlorophyllum hortense has the sulcate pileus margin, but clamp connections are present, and the fruit-body readily stains red.

Leucocoprinus Pat., J. Bot. (Morot) 2: 16 (1888).

About six species: Leucocoprinus austrofragilis, L. birnbaumii, L. cretaceus (= L. cepistipes sensu Pegler, with white pileus, rather than the brown centre of true L. cepistipes, according to Vellinga (2001b)) and L. fragilissimus.

Lepiota minya also appears to belong in Leucocoprinus.

All States and Territories.

In native forests. Also in gardens and greenhouses and indoors (such as in plant pots in bathrooms).

On the ground.

Saprotrophic.

Aberdeen, J.E.C. (1992), Lepiotoid Genera (Agaricales) in South-eastern Queensland. Aberdeen Publications, Gailes, Queensland. [Description, and Microcharacters of L. austrofragilis, L. birnbaumii and L. cretaceus (as L. cepistipes)]

Breitenbach, J. & Kranzlin, F. (eds) (1995), Fungi of Swizerland. Volume 4. Agarics 2nd part. Edition Mykologia, Lucerne. [Description, Illustration and Microcharacters of L. birnbaumii and L. cepistipes from Europe]

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

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 Lepiota minya]

Imazeki, R., Otani, Y. & Hongo, T. (1988), Fungi of Japan. Yama-Kei Publishers, Tokyo. [Illustration of L. birnbaumii and L. fragilissimus from Japan]

McCann, I.R. (2003), Australian Fungi Illustrated. Macdown Productions, Vermont. [Illustration of Leucocoprinus sp.]

Pegler, D.N. (1977), A preliminary agaric flora of East Africa, Kew Bull., Addit. Ser. 6: 1–615. [Description, B&W Illustration and Microcharacters of L. birnbaumii and L. cretaceus (as L. cepistipes) from East Africa]

Pegler, D.N. (1983c), Agaric flora of the Lesser Antilles, Kew Bull., Addit. Ser. 9: 1–668. [Description, B&W Illustration and Microcharacters of L. birnbaumii, L. cretaceus (as L. cepistipes) and L. fragilissimus, with Illustration of the latter two species, all from the Lesser Antilles]

Vellinga, E. (2001b), Leucocoprinus, in M.E. Noordeloos, T.W. Kuyper & E.C. Vellinga (eds), Flora Agaricina Neerlandica, Volume 5, 76–84. A.A. Balkema Publishers, Lisse. [Description, B&W Illustration and Microcharacters of L. birnbaumii and L. cretaceus along with Key to the eight Dutch species]

Young, A.M. (2005b), A Field Guide to the Fungi of Australia. University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. [Description and Illustration of L. birnbaumii]