Blessed thistle vs Fly Agaric

Centaurea benedicta compared with Amanita muscaria

Key Differences

• Blessed thistle is Not Evaluated while Fly Agaric is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blessed thistle	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Centaurea	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Centaurea benedicta	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Blessed thistle

NE — Not Evaluated

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blessed thistle

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Morocco), Asia (Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan), Europe (6 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Ecuador).

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).

Blessed thistle

The Blessed thistle (Centaurea benedicta) is a species in the genus Centaurea. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇱 Chile 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States