Banded Amanita vs Common Tarcrust

Amanita battarrae compared with Diatrype stigma

Key Differences

• Banded Amanita is Least Concern while Common Tarcrust is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Banded Amanita	Common Tarcrust
Kingdom same	Fungi (Fungi)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Xylariales (Xylariales)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Diatrypaceae
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Diatrype
Species	Amanita battarrae	Diatrype stigma

Evolutionary Relationship

Banded Amanita and Common Tarcrust share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Fungi. (Fungi)

Conservation Status

Banded Amanita

LC — Least Concern

Common Tarcrust

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Banded Amanita	Common Tarcrust
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Banded Amanita

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Common Tarcrust

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

Banded Amanita

The Banded Amanita (Amanita battarrae) is a species in the genus Amanita. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Common Tarcrust

<em>Diatrype stigma</em>, the common tarcrust, is a saprotrophic fungus in the family Diatrypaceae, found across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, as well as more broadly in Europe and temperate regions globally. It grows as a crust-like, charcoal-black stromata on the dead bark and branches of deciduous hardwoods, particularly hazel, beech, and alder. The fruiting bodies are typically flat to slightly raised, dark gray to black patches that contain numerous embedded perithecia in which ascospores are produced. This fungus plays an important ecological role as a decomposer, breaking down dead woody material and recycling nutrients in forest ecosystems. It is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List; given its broad distribution on common substrates, it is generally considered widespread. The species reproduces via wind-dispersed ascospores released from the perithecia. Diet, as a saprotrophic organism, consists of dead organic woody matter. Biological traits such as colony growth rates, spore output, and longevity remain poorly documented in standardized quantitative assessments.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden