(1886) Flammopsis Fayod (1889) Ryssospora Fayod (1889) Hypodendrum Paulet ex Earle (1909) Visculus Earle (1909) Pholiota is a genus of small to medium-sized, fleshy mushrooms in the family Strophariaceae.

[3] Pholiota is derived from the Greek word pholis, meaning "scale".

There have been several varying concepts of the genus, ranging from a pre-molecular era very broad concept[5] that nowadays would include the genera Phaeolepiota, Phaeonematoloma, Flammula, Meottomyces, some Stropharia species, some Hypholoma species, Hemipholiota, Hemistropharia, some Kuehneromyces and some Phaeomarasmius, etc.

Currently the genus is restricted to a smaller but still large group of species[6][7][8][9] that primarily grow on wood, causing a white rot, but other taxa occur on burnt ground following forest fires or camp fires, on peaty or forest soil, but none are known to be mycorrhizal.

Many species have prominent partial veils and form an annulus or annular ring on their stipes.