Black Tea-tree vs Fly Agaric

Melaleuca bracteata compared with Amanita muscaria

Key Differences

Black Tea-tree is Data Deficient while Fly Agaric is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Tea-tree	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Myrtales (Myrtales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Myrtaceae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Melaleuca	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Melaleuca bracteata	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Black Tea-tree

DD — Data Deficient

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Tea-tree	Fly Agaric
Diet	—	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	—	1 years
Average Length	—	20 cm
Average Weight	—	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Tea-tree

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across India and South Africa.

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).

Black Tea-tree

The Black Tea-tree (Melaleuca bracteata) is a species in the genus Melaleuca. It is currently classified as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. Distributed across India and South Africa.

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.