# Pluteaceae
**Pluteaceae** is a family of mushroom-forming fungi in the order [Agaricales](https://www.edgepedia.org/agaricales) ([Basidiomycota](https://www.edgepedia.org/basidiomycota)) whose best-known genus, *Pluteus*, contains approximately 300 species distributed worldwide[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595). The family is readily distinguished among the Agaricales by its inverse hymenophoral trama (arrangement of gill tissue, key family trait) and basidiospore characteristics, and a close relationship to the [Amanitaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/amanitaceae) has been repeatedly postulated[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595). Molecular phylogenetics has substantially reshaped the family: *Volvariella*, long treated as a pluteacean genus, is now placed outside the family in Volvariellaceae, while the new genus *Volvopluteus* was created for species formerly classified in *Volvariella*[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595) • [2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rank and order | Family in Agaricales, Basidiomycota; suborder Pluteineae[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595) • [3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11003440/) |
| Current genera | *Pluteus* and *Volvopluteus*; both form distinct, well-supported monophyletic clades (UFBS = 100%, LPP = 1.00)[2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015) |
| Type genus and species | *Pluteus* Fr. 1836, typified by *Pluteus cervinus* (Schaeff.) P. Kumm. 1871[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595) • [2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015) |
| Size of *Pluteus* | Approximately 300 species, distributed worldwide[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595) |
| Former members | *Volvariella* (now Volvariellaceae) and annulate species of *Chamaeota* (now placed in *Pluteus*)[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595) • [2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015) |
| Distinguishing morphology | Inverse hymenophoral trama and basidiospore characters; genera formerly separated by presence of volva (*Volvariella*), annulus (*Chamaeota*), or neither (*Pluteus*)[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595) |
| Divergence times | Most extant species of Pluteaceae emerged between 50 and 15 Ma[2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015) |
## Morphology and traditional classification
Traditional separation of the family's three historical genera relied on veil characters of the basidiocarps: *Volvariella* has a well-developed volva (a sac-like remnant of the universal veil at the stipe base), *Chamaeota* shows a distinct annulus on the stipe, and *Pluteus* lacks both volva and annulus[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595). Most species of *Volvariella* grow terrestrially in the litter layer of soil, in grasslands, or in woods, with one mycoparasitic and some lignicolous taxa also known[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595).
Infrageneric taxonomy of *Pluteus* rests primarily on the hymenial cystidia (sterile cells on the gill surfaces) and the pileipellis (the cap cuticle). Singer (1986) recognized three sections: sect. *Pluteus*, with metuloid pleurocystidia and a pileipellis as a cutis; sect. *Hispidoderma*, with non-metuloid pleurocystidia and a pileipellis of elongated elements; and sect. *Celluloderma*, with non-metuloid pleurocystidia and a pileipellis of short, clavate or spheropedunculate elements organized as a hymeniderm[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595).
## Molecular revision of the family
A 2011 study by Alfredo Justo, Alfredo Vizzini, Andrew M. Minnis, and colleagues, using nuclear ribosomal genes (nSSU, ITS, and nLSU), found that *Volvariella* is polyphyletic: most of its representatives fall outside the pluteoid clade and show affinities to hygrophoroid genera such as *Camarophyllus* and *Cantharocybe*[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595). *[Volvariella gloiocephala](https://www.edgepedia.org/volvopluteus-gloiocephalus)* and allies occupy a different clade, the sister group of *Pluteus*, and the new generic name *Volvopluteus* was proposed to accommodate them[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595). The genus *Pluteus* was recovered as monophyletic and includes species with a partial veil traditionally classified in *Chamaeota*; earlier work had already shown that the annulate North American *Chamaeota mammillata* clusters inside *Pluteus*, leading to the combination *Pluteus mammillatus*[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595).
Basidiospore size and pileipellis structure can be used to separate *Pluteus*, *Volvariella*, and *Volvopluteus*[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595). Agreement between the molecular phylogeny and the morphological subdivision of *Pluteus* is generally good, though some rearrangements were necessary; for example, subdivision of sect. *Celluloderma* by the presence or absence of cystidioid elements in the pileipellis is not supported by molecular data[1](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595).
## Phylogenomic framework and current limits
A 2026 phylogenomic study reconstructed the family from 121 high-quality genomes across 98 Pluteineae species, using a dataset of 672 single-copy orthologs; both coalescent and concatenation-based analyses supported the monophyly of Pluteaceae, with UFBS = 100% and LPP = 1.00[2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015). Both topologies place *Volvariella* and *Limnoperdon incarnatum* together as a sister clade to the clade comprising *Pluteus* and *Volvopluteus*[2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015). Modern taxonomy accordingly recognizes *Pluteus* and *Volvopluteus* as members of Pluteaceae, whereas *Volvariella* is placed outside the family in the independent lineage Volvariellaceae[2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015).
The same study revised the framework of *Pluteus* into two subgenera and four sections: subgenus *Pluteus* with sect. *Pluteus*, and subgenus *Hispidocelluloderma* with sect. *Hispidoderma*, sect. *Celluloderma*, and the newly described sect. *Pruinoderma*[2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015). Phylogenetic network analyses revealed extensive introgression within *Pluteus* sect. *Pluteus*, and the authors suggest these hybridization events may account for the high degree of phylogenetic conflict in that section[2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015).
## Species diversity and recognition
[Species delimitation](https://www.edgepedia.org/species-delimitation) in the family combines molecular data with morphology and ecology. A companion study of species complexes in *Pluteus* and *Volvopluteus* using ITS sequences detected conflicts between morphological and molecular delimitation in sect. *Pluteus*, especially in the cervinus-petasatus clade, and described several new species, including *Pluteus saupei* and *P. heteromarginatus* from the USA, *P. castri* from Russia and Japan, and *Volvopluteus asiaticus* from Japan[4](https://iris.cnr.it/handle/20.500.14243/50985). Some species of sect. *Celluloderma* are widely distributed across Europe, North America, and Asia, in some cases with and in some cases without molecular differentiation between continents[4](https://iris.cnr.it/handle/20.500.14243/50985).
In China, a 2026 monograph applying a multispecies coalescent criterion (BPP support above 0.995) together with morphological and ecological traits recognized 82 species of Pluteaceae, describing a new section and seven new species, with identification keys provided[2](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015).
## References
1. [Justo A, Vizzini A, Minnis AM, et al. (2011). Phylogeny of the Pluteaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota): taxonomy and character evolution. Fungal Biology.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878614610001595)
2. [Chen X, Qu H, Ševčíková H, Qin WQ, Yang ZL (2026). Phylogeny and species delimitation of Pluteaceae (Agaricales) with documentation on the species from China. Mycosphere 17: e016.](https://doi.org/10.48130/mycosphere-0026-0015)
3. [Vizzini A, Alvarado P, Consiglio G, et al. (2024). Family matters inside the order Agaricales: systematic reorganization and classification of incertae sedis clitocyboid, pleurotoid and tricholomatoid taxa based on an updated 6-gene phylogeny. Studies in Mycology 107: 67–148.](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11003440/)
4. [Justo A, Minnis AM, Ghignone S, et al. (2011). Species recognition in Pluteus and Volvopluteus (Pluteaceae, Agaricales): morphology, geography and phylogeny.](https://iris.cnr.it/handle/20.500.14243/50985)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Microorganisms and fungi › Fungi and mycology › Basidiomycete taxa › Agaricomycetes › Agaricales › Pleurotoid and pluteoid Agaricales › Pluteaceae*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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