Spore print dark brown. Caps up to about 20cm diam., smooth, dry, yellow-brown in colour. Stalk robust and in some species with conspicuous hanging ring frequently covered by a deposit of brown spores. Gills when young completely covered by veil until shortly before cap is fully expanded.

The genus is common with about a dozen species including both native and exotic species, on substrates such as wood of living trees, buried wood, and wood mulch. At least one native species occurs in both forest and urban habitats.

Ten species in New Zealand, both exotic and indigenous. Most are found on soil and well-rotted litter (including wood chip mulches), but the large, iconic, edible A. parasitica is most commonly found at the base of living tawa trees.

Only those listed below have descriptions or images available from NZFungi.

Basidiospores smooth, generally with thick wall and prominent germ-pore, basidia usually 4-spored, in a few species 2-spored; gill trama regular becoming less regular with age. Pileipellis a distinct palisadoderm at first with or without dermatocystidia but may soon disorganize and become mixed with filamentous units; 'scalp' cellular. Cheilocystidia always present, vesiculose to lageniform or cylindric; pleurocystidia present or absent, either simple or prominently differentiated. Stipitipellis of cylindric, hyaline to slightly brownish hyphae; caulocystidia usually present especially at stipe-apex.

Development where known paravelangiocarpic, except in one species (A. cylindrica) where it is bivelangiocarpic.

On the ground in woods, pastures, heaths etc.; on dung, plant remains, refuse and wood; often in gardens, farmyards and greenhouses; saprophytes, or in the case of A. parasitica a weak parasite.