Big Smoky Bracket vs Fly Agaric

Bjerkandera fumosa compared with Amanita muscaria

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big Smoky Bracket	Fly Agaric
Kingdom same	Fungi (Fungi)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum same	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class same	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Polyporales (Polyporales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Phanerochaetaceae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Bjerkandera	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Bjerkandera fumosa	Amanita muscaria

Evolutionary Relationship

Big Smoky Bracket and Fly Agaric share a common ancestor at the Class level: Agaricomycetes. (Mushrooms)

View Class: Agaricomycetes

Conservation Status

Big Smoky Bracket

LC — Least Concern

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big Smoky Bracket	Fly Agaric
Diet	—	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	—	1 years
Average Length	—	20 cm
Average Weight	—	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big Smoky Bracket

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

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).

Big Smoky Bracket

The Big Smoky Bracket (Bjerkandera fumosa) is a species in the genus Bjerkandera. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

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.