''Gerhardtia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the family

Lyophyllaceae The Lyophyllaceae is a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. A 2008 estimate indicated eight genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil orga ...

. It was

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

in 1994 by French mycologist

Marcel Bon Marcel Bon (17 March 1925 – 11 May 2014) was one of France's best known field mycologists. He was born in Picardy in 1925 and came to mycology through general botany, and pharmacology. He lived at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, a quaint little town ...

, with '' Gerhardtia incarnatobrunnea'' as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. It is distinguished from similar genera by having

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

with an irregular outline. Some authorities place ''Gerhardtia'' in

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

with ''

Lyophyllum ''Lyophyllum'' is a genus of about 40 species of fungi, widespread in north temperate regions. Species References

Lyophyllaceae Agaricales genera {{Agaricales-stub ...

''. The New Zealand species '' Gerhardtia pseudosaponacea'', described as new to science in 2014, is similar in appearance to '' Tricholoma saponaceum'', including its weakly soap-like odor.

References

Lyophyllaceae Agaricales genera {{Agaricales-stub