It produces medium-sized fruit bodies (mushrooms) that have a distinctive hairy reddish-brown cap with a shaggy margin when young.

[6] According to MycoBank, synonyms include August Batsch's 1783 Agaricus rufolivescens, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's 1783 Amanita punctata var.

fulvosquamosum in 1970, which has squamules (minute scales) arranged in a concentric fashion on the cap;[7] Manfred Enderle published this taxon as a form in 2004.

Imbricata includes species with a dry cap cuticle, with a texture that ranges from roughened or squamulose (resembling suede) to almost smooth.

[10] The specific epithet derives from the Latin word vaccinus and means "pertaining to cows", probably in reference to its color.

[15] The cap margin is initially curved inwards, and shaggy from hanging remnants of the partial veil.

[16] Although the fruit bodies have sometimes been considered edible,[18] they are of low quality, and generally not recommended for consumption due to their resemblance to and potential for confusion with toxic brown Tricholomas.

[20] Tricholoma imbricatum somewhat resembles T. vaccinum, but has duller brown colors, is less robust in stature, and has a solid (not hollow) stalk.

[13] Another lookalike, T. inodermeum, has a less woolly cap texture and flesh that turns bright pinkish red when injured.

[15] The scaly and fibrous cap surface of T. vaccinum might be confused with Inocybe, but species in this genus can be distinguished by their brown spore prints.

[21] Tricholoma vaccinum is a mycorrhizal species, and grows in association with coniferous trees, especially pine and spruce.

[11] It is found in northern Asia,[14] Europe, and, in North America, is widely distributed in the United States and Canada,[13] and has also been recorded in Mexico.

[28] The first characterized fungal aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme, ALD1, helps circumvent ethanol stress—a critical function in mycorrhizal habitats.