The Agaricales are an order of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. As originally conceived, the order contained all the agarics, but subsequent research has shown that not all agarics are closely related and some belong in other orders, such as the Russulales and Boletales. Conversely, DNA research has also shown that many non-agarics, including some of the clavarioid fungi and gasteroid fungi belong within the Agaricales. The order has 46 extant families, more than 400 genera, and over 25,000 described species, along with six extinct genera known only from the fossil record. Species in the Agaricales range from the familiar Agaricus bisporus and the deadly Amanita virosa to the coral-like Clavaria zollingeri and bracket-like Fistulina hepatica.
The Pluteaceae are a family of small to medium-sized mushrooms which have free gill attachment and pink spores. Members of Pluteaceae can be mistaken for members of Entolomataceae, but can be distinguished by the angled spores and attached gills of the Entolomataceae. The four genera in the Pluteaceae comprise the widely distributed Volvariella and Pluteus, the rare Chamaeota, and Volvopluteus, which was newly described in 2011 as a result of molecular analysis. The Dictionary of the Fungi estimates there are 364 species in the family.
The Marasmiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Basidiocarps are most frequently agarics, but occasionally cyphelloid. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contained 54 genera and 1590 species, but molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has led to a more restricted family concept, so that the Marasmiaceae included just 13 genera, and some 1205 species. It was reduced further down in 2020, to 10 genera and about 700 species.
The Hygrophoraceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Originally conceived as containing white-spored, thick-gilled agarics, including Hygrophorus and Hygrocybe species, DNA evidence has extended the limits of the family, so it now contains not only agarics, but also basidiolichens and corticioid fungi. Species are thus diverse and are variously ectomycorrhizal, lichenized, associated with mosses, or saprotrophic. The family contains 34 genera and over 1000 species. None is of any great economic importance, though fruit bodies of some Hygrocybe and Hygrophorus species are considered edible and may be collected for sale in local markets.
The Clavariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Originally the family contained most of the clavarioid fungi, but in its current sense is more restricted, albeit with a greater diversity of basidiocarp forms. Basidiocarps are variously clavarioid or agaricoid (mushroom-shaped), less commonly corticioid or hydnoid.
The Tricholomataceae are a large family of fungi within the order Agaricales. Originally a classic "wastebasket taxon", the family included any white-, yellow-, or pink-spored genera in the Agaricales not already classified as belonging to e.g. the Amanitaceae, Lepiotaceae, Hygrophoraceae, Pluteaceae, or Entolomataceae.
The Fistulinaceae are a family of fungi, the best-known member of which is the beefsteak fungus Fistulina hepatica. Molecular studies have now shown it to lie within the Agaricales.
Hebeloma is a genus of fungi in the family Hymenogastraceae. Found worldwide, it contains the poison pie or fairy cakes (Hebeloma crustuliniforme) and the ghoul fungus (H. aminophilum), from Western Australia, which grows on rotting animal remains.
The Cyphellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. The family contains 16 genera and, in 2008, 31 species.
The Mycenaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi, the family contains 10 genera and 705 species. This is one of several families that were separated from the Tricholomataceae as a result of phylogenetic analyses. Taxa in the Mycenaceae are saprobic, have a cosmopolitan distribution, and are found in almost all ecological zones. The family was circumscribed by Caspar van Overeem in 1926.
Ceratellopsis is a genus of fungi in the family Clavariaceae. Basidiocarps grow gregariously on fallen wood, bark, and decaying plant material and are clavarioid, simple, small, with an acute apex. Only two species are currently recognized; other species formerly placed in Ceratellopsis have been transferred to other genera or are nomina dubia.
The Lyophyllaceae is a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. A 2008 estimate indicated eight genera and 157 species; as of November 2014, the Catalog of Life lists 13 genera in the family. Lyophyllaceae was circumscribed by mycologist Walter Jülich in 1981.
The Pterulaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contained 99 species previously distributed among 12 genera. More recent data from molecular phylogenetic reconstruction showed that members of the genus Parapterulicium are unrelated to Pterulaceae and also polyphyletic. A new genus Baltazaria was created and both genera were moved to Russulales, to families Lachnocladiaceae and Peniophoraceae respectively.
The Typhulaceae are a family of clavarioid fungi in the order Agaricales. Basidiocarps are small, simple, and typically club-shaped with a distinct stem. The family originally contained several genera, including Macrotyphula and Ceratellopsis, but molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has shown that only the type genus Typhula belongs in the Typhulaceae, the other genera being synonyms or belonging to other families. The monotypic genus Lutypha has not yet been sequenced.
Typhula is a genus of clavarioid fungi in the order Agaricales. Species of Typhula are saprotrophic, mostly decomposing leaves, twigs, and herbaceous material. Basidiocarps are club-shaped or narrowly cylindrical and are simple, often arising from sclerotia. A few species are facultative plant pathogens, causing a number of commercially important crop and turfgrass diseases.
Macrotyphula is a genus of clavarioid fungi in the family Phyllotopsidaceae. Basidiocarps are simple, narrowly club-shaped to filiform, sometimes arising from a sclerotium. They typically grow on dead wood or leaf litter, often in swarms.
Sarcomyxa is a small genus of agaricoid fungi in the Sarcomyxaceae. Basidiocarps are shelf-like and grow on wood. Sarcomyxa edulis is commercially cultivated for food in Asia.
