[5][6] The genus contains species with clitocyboid (gilled mushrooms that lack partial veils and feature white, yellowish, or pinkish spore prints) to omphalinoid (mushroom with a decurrent gill attachment, a cartilage-like stem, a broad or depressed cap surface and lacking a ring and volva) fruit body types.

As a wood-rotting fungus genus, species of Trogia have enzymes that break down lignin, a complex polysaccharide that is largely responsible for giving wood its strength.

Trogia buccinalis has been investigated for its ability to use these enzymes to break down common pollutant molecules such as anthracene, pentachlorophenol, and polyvinylchloride.

Appearing after local rainfall, the mushrooms contain toxic amino acids and seem to be cardiotoxic in susceptible people,[11] causing fatal arrhythmia.

A team led by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist Zeng Guang suggested that the element barium, present in local foods and contaminated water, may increase the toxicity of the Trogia mushroom.