The North American Species of Pholiota
Key to Subgenera of Pholiota
| 1. Pileus cuticle lacking any gelatinous layers (surface granulose to fibrillose or scaly, or rarely canescent, glabrous and hygrophanous | 2 |
| 1. Pileus cuticle with a layer of gelatinized hyphae in some part (surface may be glabrous to scaly) | 4 |
| 2. Pileus glabrous and hygrophanous or merely silky to canescent over the surface (see also Subg. Hemipholiota) | Subg. Hygrotrama |
| 2. Pileus dry, scaly to granulose or coarsely fibrillose | 3 |
| 3. Pileus and stipe scaly to coarsely fibrillose (but not granulose) and chrysocystidia (or similar cells) present in hymenium | Subg. Pholiota |
| 3. Pileus fibrillose, scaly or granulose, lacking chrysocystidia in hymenium | Subg. Flavidula |
| 4. Pleurocystidia absent; spores at least weakly dextrinoid | Subg. Flammula |
| 4. Not as above | 5 |
| 5. Pileus and stipe typically distinctly scaly at the time the veil breaks; chrysocystidia or somewhat similar structures present in hymenium | |
| 5. Not as above | 6 |
| 6. Pleurocystidia present and prominently projecting | Subg. Flammuloides |
| 6. Pleurocystidia not as above | 7 |
| 7. Pleurocystidia absent or if present as leptocystidia then not projecting appreciably | Subg. Hemipholiota |
| 7. Pleurocystidia present as chrysocystidia | Subg. Phaeonaematoloma |
