Once a taxonomic refugium for nearly any white-spored agaric with an annulus and attached gills, the concept of the genus Armillaria has been clarified with the neotypification of Armillaria mellea (Vahl:Fr.) Kummer and its acceptance as type species of Armillaria (Fr.:Fr.) Staude. Due to recognition of different type species over the years and an extremely variable generic concept, at least 274 species and varieties have been placed in Armillaria (or in Armillariella Karst., its obligate synonym). Only about forty species belong in the genus Armillaria sensu stricto, while the rest can be placed in forty-three other modem genera.
This study is based on original descriptions in the literature, as well as studies of type specimens and generic and species concepts by other authors. This publication consists of an alphabetical listing of all epithets used in Armillaria or Armillariella, with their basionyms, currently accepted names, and other obligate and facultative synonyms. The authors propose the new combinations:
Armillaria affinis (Singer) Volk & Burdsall
Armillaria camerunensis (Henn.) Volk & Burdsall
Armillaria tigrensis (Singer) Volk & Burdsall
Armillaria viridiflava (Singer) Volk & Burdsall
Amanita subcaligata (A.H. Smith & P.M. Rea) A.H. Smith ex Tulloss in Volk & Burds.
Nomenclatural problems with Tricholoma subannulatum (Batsch) Ricken (1914) vs. Tricholoma subannulatum (Peck) Zeller (1922) are also discussed.