A. silvicola is a member of Agaricus section Arvenses, a group of morphologically similar mushrooms.

silvicola by Carlo Vittadini in 1832, it was promoted to distinct species status by Charles Horton Peck in 1873.

It is 5–15 cm (2–6 in) in diameter, which makes it slightly smaller than its close relative Agaricus arvensis, the "horse mushroom".

[6] It looks fairly similar to a young death cap (Amanita phalloides).

[12][13] It is suspected to have caused occasional adverse reactions in North America.