Barn Fern vs coast amaranth

Asplenium haughtonii compared with Amaranthus pumilus

Key Differences

• Barn Fern is Critically Endangered while coast amaranth is Extinct.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Barn Fern	coast amaranth
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Aspleniaceae	Amaranthaceae
Genus	Asplenium	Amaranthus
Species	Asplenium haughtonii	Amaranthus pumilus

Evolutionary Relationship

Barn Fern and coast amaranth share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Plantae. (Plants)

Conservation Status

Barn Fern

CR — Critically Endangered

coast amaranth

EX — Extinct

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Barn Fern	coast amaranth
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Barn Fern

Habitat

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

coast amaranth

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Japan.

Barn Fern

The Barn Fern (Asplenium haughtonii) is a species in the genus Asplenium. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

coast amaranth

Coast amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is an annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae, native to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the eastern United States, where it once grew on coastal foredunes, beach strand, and shell-hash substrates above the high tide line from New York south to South Carolina. It is a low-growing, fleshy plant with small, rounded leaves and inconspicuous green flowers typical of the genus. Coast amaranth is assessed as Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN, as it has not been reliably documented from wild populations since the mid-20th century; the last confirmed collections date to the 1960s. The species' decline and likely extinction resulted from intense human pressure on Atlantic coastal habitats through shoreline development, beach stabilisation, vehicular traffic on beaches, and increased storm frequency disrupting pioneer dune vegetation. It is federally listed as Threatened in the United States, though this listing predates confirmed extinction in the wild. A small number of ex-situ accessions may exist in botanical garden collections. Genetic material and seed banking efforts represent the only remaining conservation options for this critically reduced species.