Alexanders vs Choke

Angelica atropurpurea compared with Epichloe typhina

Key Differences

Alexanders is Least Concern while Choke is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alexanders	Choke
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)
Order	Apiales (Apiales)	Hypocreales (Hypocreales)
Family	Apiaceae	Clavicipitaceae
Genus	Angelica	Epichloe
Species	Angelica atropurpurea	Epichloe typhina

Conservation Status

Alexanders

LC — Least Concern

Choke

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alexanders	Choke
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alexanders

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Canada, France, Norway, and United States.

Choke

Habitat

Native to North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in United States.

Alexanders

The Alexanders (Angelica atropurpurea) is a species in the genus Angelica. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Choke

Choke (Epichloe typhina) is an endophytic and pathogenic fungus in the family Clavicipitaceae, phylum Ascomycota, that colonises the tissues of various cool-season grasses (Poaceae) across Europe and North America. The name refers to the disease it causes — infected grass tillers are typically 'choked' (prevented from flowering) when the fungus produces a dense, white to cream-coloured, stromata (a compact fungal structure) that surrounds the flowering stem before it can emerge, suppressing seed production. Epichloe species exist along a mutualism-parasitism continuum; some strains are biotrophic endophytes living almost entirely within grass tissues without obvious symptoms and conferring benefits to the host such as increased drought resistance and deterrence of herbivores through alkaloid production, while others — including E. typhina — are more parasitic in nature, sterilising infected host tillers. The fungus spreads via airborne ascospores produced on its stroma that infect new host plants. Related Epichloe/Neotyphodium endophytes are of great practical importance to agriculture as they produce ergot alkaloids and other compounds that can cause toxicosis in livestock grazing infected pasture grasses. As a fungal pathogen/endophyte rather than a wildlife species, it is Not Evaluated by the IUCN.