Agrocybe praecox group
The fruit bodies are mushrooms with caps up to about 10 centimetres in diameter, that are broadly conical to fairly flat in shape (but then often with a slight central bump). The colour is beige to yellow brown and the cap is smooth but in dry conditions typically cracks in polygonal lines. The gills are pale at fist but become brown with age, as the spores mature. The stem is white.
There is a partial veil over the gills in immature mushrooms and after the cap has expanded a veil remnant may remain as a ring of tissue around the stem. However, this ring may be fairly flimsy and hard to see (or even absent) in aged specimens.
Spore print: dark brown.
Overseas studies have shown that there are several species macroscopically similar to Agrocybe praecox and there is also at least one Australian praecox-look-alike. The fruit bodies of this group often appear in spring to summer. In suburban areas they are common on woodchip mulch, often in large groups.
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