It is a highly variable mushroom (hence 'deceiver'), and can look quite washed out, colorless and drab, but when younger it often assumes red, pinkish brown, and orange tones.

The deceiver was first described by Tyrolian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1772 as Agaricus laccatus,[2] before being given its current binomial name by Mordecai Cubitt Cooke in 1884.

[4] The deceiver is a small mushroom with a cap measuring 2–6 cm (1–2.5 in) in diameter, convex when young and later flattening or even depressed in the center.

The irregular gills are widely spaced and decurrent or adnexed, and of similar color to the cap, though whiten with spores as the mushroom matures.

[5][6] Formerly considered a subspecies by French mycologist René Maire, the close deceiver (Laccaria proxima) is a European relative with a fine scaly cap and found in wetter habitats.

L. laccata is mycorrhizal with several types of trees, including members of the Pinaceae (Pines), Fagaceae (Beech), and Betulaceae (Birch).