Alpine Water-moss vs Fly Agaric

Fontinalis squamosa compared with Amanita muscaria

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alpine Water-moss	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Bryophyta	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Bryopsida (Bryopsida)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Hypnales (Hypnales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Fontinalaceae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Fontinalis	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Fontinalis squamosa	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Alpine Water-moss

LC — Least Concern

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alpine Water-moss	Fly Agaric
Diet	—	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	—	1 years
Average Length	—	20 cm
Average Weight	—	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alpine Water-moss

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Fly Agaric

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

Alpine Water-moss

The Alpine Water-moss (Fontinalis squamosa) is a species in the genus Fontinalis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region. Distributed across Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Fly Agaric

Among the most iconic and recognizable fungi on Earth, fly agaric mushrooms display striking red caps with white flecked warts across boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite their fairy-tale appearance, they contain potent psychoactive compounds including muscimol and ibotenic acid and are moderately toxic. They form critical mycorrhizal symbioses with birch, pine, and spruce trees, exchanging mineral nutrients for carbon and playing essential roles in boreal forest nutrient cycling.