An
agaric or is a type of
fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a
pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the
stipe (stalk), with
lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. "Agaric" can also refer to a
basidiomycete species characterized by an agaric-type fruiting body. Archaically agaric meant 'tree-fungus' (after Latin
agaricum); however, that changed with the Linnaean interpretation in 1753 when
Linnaeus used the generic name
Agaricus for gilled mushrooms.