Most Psathyrellaceae basidiospores have a germ pore, and the pigment in the spore walls bleaches in concentrated sulfuric acid, in contrast with another phylogenetically unrelated dark-spored genus, Panaeolus. Psathyrellaceae are saprotrophs or rarely mycoparasites on other agarics (e.g. Psathyrella epimyces). They often occur in nitrogen rich habitats such as muck soils, dung, wet soft decayed wood, lawns, garden soils. The peculiar genus Mythicomyces, so named because it combines features characterizing several traditional agaric families, has proven to be a phylogenetically basal genus to the other Psathyrellaceae.