''Gerhardtia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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

in the family

Lyophyllaceae The Lyophyllaceae is a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. A 2008 estimate indicated eight genera and 157 species; , the Catalog of Life lists 13 genera in the family. Lyophyllaceae was circumscribed by mycologist Walter Jülich in 1981. S ...

. It was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

in 1994 by French mycologist

Marcel Bon Marcel Bon (17 March 1925 – 11 May 2014)http://fmbds.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CAFAM-2014-CR-complet.pdf was one of France's best known field mycologists. He was born in Picardy in 1925 and came to mycology through general botany, and ph ...

, with '' Gerhardtia incarnatobrunnea'' as the

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. It is distinguished from similar genera by having

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual 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 plants, algae, f ...

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

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly 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 all ...

with ''

Lyophyllum ''Lyophyllum'' is a genus of about 40 species of fungi, widespread in north temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the ...

''. The New Zealand species '' Gerhardtia pseudosaponacea'', described as new to science in 2014, is similar in appearance to ''

Tricholoma saponaceum ''Tricholoma saponaceum'', also known as the soap-scented toadstool, soapy knight or soap tricholoma is an inedible mushroom found in woodlands in Europe and North America. Taxonomy ''Tricholoma saponaceum'' was first described in 1818 by the f ...

'', including its weakly soap-like odor.

References

Lyophyllaceae Agaricales genera {{Agaricales-stub