It is widespread and common in Europe and North America, appearing under both conifer and deciduous trees in summer and autumn.

The fruiting body is a small all-white or cream mushroom with a fibrous silky umbonate cap and adnexed gills.

[7] The cap is 1–4 cm (0.39–1.57 in) in diameter and white or cream-coloured with a silky texture, at first conical before flattening out to a more convex shape with a pronounced umbo (boss).

[9] Larger mushrooms can be confused with members of the genus Tricholoma or the edible Calocybe gambosa, though these have a mealy smell and gills that remain white.

[11] The variety lilacina is similar in shape but tinted lilac all over, with an ochre-brown flush on the cap umbo and the base of the stem.

[8] This variety could be mistaken for the edible amethyst deceiver (Laccaria amethystina), although the latter species has a fibrous stipe, a fruity smell and lacks the ochre-coloured umbo.

lilacina in moist mossy tundra heaths, alongside such plants as American dwarf birch, snow willow, Arctic bell-heather and northern white mountain avens.

Within these locations, fruiting bodies may be found in grassy areas and near pathways,[10] or often on rich, bare soil that has been disturbed at roadsides, and near ditches.

[15] In Israel, I. geophylla grows under Palestine oak (Quercus calliprinos) and pines, with mushrooms still appearing in periods of little or no rain as they are mycorrhizal.

[17] The symptoms are those of muscarine poisoning, namely, greatly increased salivation, perspiration (sweating), and lacrimation (tear flow) within 15–30 minutes of ingestion.

With large doses, these symptoms may be followed by abdominal pain, severe nausea, diarrhea, blurred vision, and labored breathing.