Ascending Grapefern vs Fly Agaric

Botrychium ascendens compared with Amanita muscaria

Key Differences

Ascending Grapefern is Not Evaluated while Fly Agaric is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ascending Grapefern	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Ophioglossales (Ophioglossales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Ophioglossaceae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Botrychium	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Botrychium ascendens	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Ascending Grapefern

NE — Not Evaluated

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ascending Grapefern	Fly Agaric
Diet	—	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	—	1 years
Average Length	—	20 cm
Average Weight	—	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ascending Grapefern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Canada, Norway, and United States.

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).

Ascending Grapefern

Ascending grapefern (Botrychium ascendens) is a species in the genus Botrychium. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

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.