Large mushrooms, solitary or in small groups on soil close to their ectomycorrhizal host trees. Cap typically with large scaly or powdery patches, white, yellowish, greyish, dark brown, or red (the exotic A. muscaria) in colour. Gills free, white, covered with veil when immature, the veil sometimes forming a persistent ring around the stalk in mature fruiting bodies. Stalk swollen towards the base, the base itself typically surrounded by a seperate, sac-like ‘volva’ (the volva is the remains of a seperate layer of tissue which surrounds the entire fruiting body when it is very young - the ‘universal veil’), although the prominance of the volva varies between species. Spore print white.

Amanita species are ectomycorrhizal, their mushrooms are always found close to their host trees. The indigenous species are confined to either Nothofagus forests or to stands of tea-tree, where they are often found in large numbers in the autumn. There are 10 indigenous species (all endemic), and two common exotic species, A. muscaria and A. phalloides (see images and notes below).

Volvariella another soil-inhabiting fungus with a volva, is best distinguished from Amanita by its pink spore print. Leucoagaricus has a similar stature to Amanita, has white spores and free gills, but never has scales on the cap and lacks a volva. It is found in grassy areas, rather than forests. Lepiota species have scaly caps, a ring on the stalk, white spores and free gills, but are much smaller in stature than Amanita, and again lack a volva. Macrolepiota and Chlorophyllum have a well developed ring, but lack a volva Chlorophyllum has a greenish spore print.

Ectomycorrhizal under beech, tea-tree and introduced mycorrhizal trees. Includes the introduced fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), common under a range of introduced conifers and hardwoods. Another introduced species, A. phalloides, is one of New Zealand's most poisonous mushrooms.

Eighteen species have been reported from New Zealand, only those listed below have descriptions or images available from NZFungi.

Entire fungus at first enclosed in a universal veil which is ruptured during growth, one portion remaining as a volva or sheath at the base of the stem, the remainder forming separable patches or warts on the pileus ; gills free, white; stem central, bearing a ring; spores white.

Gills free, stem with a volva and ring, are the essentials constituting the genus Amanita. Lepiota differs in the absence of a volva sheathing the base of the stem. All grow on the ground.