Barn Fern vs Fly Agaric

Asplenium haughtonii compared with Amanita muscaria

Key Differences

• Barn Fern is Critically Endangered while Fly Agaric is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Barn Fern	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Aspleniaceae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Asplenium	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Asplenium haughtonii	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Barn Fern

CR — Critically Endangered

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Barn Fern

Habitat

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

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).

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.

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.