Agaricus

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iAgaricus

Poisonous A. xanthodermus

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Homobasidiomycetes
Subclass:	Homobasidiomycetidae
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Agaricaceae
Genus:	Agaricus

Agaricus is a large and important genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with possibly over 300 members worldwide<ref>Bas C (1991). A short introduction to the ecology, taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus Agaricus, 21-24. In L.J.L.D. Van Griensven (ed.), Genetics and breeding of Agaricus. Pudoc, Wageningen, The Netherlands.</ref><ref>Capelli A (1984). Agaricus. L.: Fr. (Psalliota Fr.). Liberia editrice Bella Giovanna, Saronno, Italy</ref>. The genus includes the button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), and the Field mushroom (Agaricus campestris) the dominant cultivated mushrooms of the West.

Members of Agaricus are characterized by having a fleshy cap or pileus, from the underside of which grow a number of radiating plates or gills on which are produced the naked spores. They are distinguished from other members of their family, Agaricaceae, by their chocolate-brown spores. Members of Agaricus also have a stem or stipe, which elevates the pileus above the object on which the mushroom grows, and a partial veil, which protects the developing gills and later forms a ring or annulus on the stalk.