This is a large genus of ectomycorrhizal fungi that are typically various shades of brown. Caps are small and conical, though they flatten somewhat with age and generally have a pronounced raised central knob. The cap often appears fibrous or frayed and frequently has a distinctive odour.

A large genus of ectomycorrhizal brown agarics characterised by nodulose (angular) spores, thick-walled metuloid cystidia, dry fibrillose or squamulose caps, and slender pruinose stipes. Species are typically small to medium, often brown, fuscous, ochraceous, or beige, with white-fimbriate lamellar edges and distinctive odours .