Belly-shaped Hard Grass vs Cramp Balls

Aegilops ventricosa compared with Daldinia concentrica

Key Differences

Belly-shaped Hard Grass is Least Concern while Cramp Balls is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Belly-shaped Hard Grass	Cramp Balls
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Xylariales (Xylariales)
Family	Poaceae (Grass Family)	Hypoxylaceae
Genus	Aegilops	Daldinia
Species	Aegilops ventricosa	Daldinia concentrica

Conservation Status

Belly-shaped Hard Grass

LC — Least Concern

Cramp Balls

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Belly-shaped Hard Grass	Cramp Balls
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Belly-shaped Hard Grass

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, France, Netherlands, and United Kingdom.

Cramp Balls

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Belly-shaped Hard Grass

The Belly-shaped Hard Grass (Aegilops ventricosa) is a species in the genus Aegilops. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.