The Agaricaceae is a family of fungi within the order Agaricales of the Basidiomycota. It includes not just the cap and stem genus Agaricus, but also Chlorophylum, Coprinus, Lepiota, Leucoagaricus, Leucocoprinus, Macrolepiota and Phaeolepiota. Previously many of these gilled cap and stem mushrooms were in the the Lepidoceacae and Coprinaceae families, which no longer exist. Notice that the spore-colors represented in these genera are widely different and range from brown, to black, to white to green! The deliquesing Coprinus comatus even has totally unique mode of spore dispersal. Most surprisingly it seems that the birds’ nest fungi (Crucibulum, Cyathus and Nidularia), the gastroid Calvatia and secotoid Podaxus, are also in this seemingly disparate group. These were formerly in the Nidulariaceae, Lycoperdaceae and Tulostomataceae families, which are also now extinct. Molecular analysis shows, contrary to the evidence of our senses, they are more closely related to all the other members of the Agaricaceae than they are to similar looking fungi which were formerly in the artifical group called the GASTROMYCETES. By the way, the unrelated remaining gastromycetes have been assigned to other orders and families. You might ask why aren't all the other inky caps put in this category? It turns out despite appearances, they proved to be unrelated to Coprinus comatus and so were required to be given new names and placed in a different family. These coprinoid inky caps such as Coprinopsis, Coprinellus and Parasola have been assigned (for the moment at least) to the newly erected Psathyrellaceae family. The names have changed and we know more about their phylogeny, but the mushrooms remain the same.
To see enlarged versions of each photo represented in this family, click on the first photo and then click on the textual links above each photo to get to the next one.
