[2][3] Conocybe rugosa was originally described in the genus Pholiotina, and its morphology and a 2013 molecular phylogenetics study supported its continued classification there.

[4] Conocybe rugosa has a conical cap that expands to flat, usually with an umbo.

The stalk is 2 mm thick and 1 to 6 cm long, smooth, and brown, with a prominent and movable ring.

[5] This species is deadly poisonous,[6] the fruiting bodies containing alpha-amanitin, a cyclic peptide that is highly toxic to the liver and is responsible for many deaths by poisoning from mushrooms in the genera Amanita and Lepiota.

They are sometimes mistaken for species of the genus Psilocybe due to their similar looking cap.