chocolate cosmos vs clouded magpie

Cosmos atrosanguineus compared with Abraxas sylvata

Key Differences

chocolate cosmos is Not Evaluated while clouded magpie is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	chocolate cosmos	clouded magpie
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Geometridae
Genus	Cosmos	Abraxas
Species	Cosmos atrosanguineus	Abraxas sylvata

Conservation Status

chocolate cosmos

NE — Not Evaluated

clouded magpie

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	chocolate cosmos	clouded magpie
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

chocolate cosmos

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Sweden.

clouded magpie

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

chocolate cosmos

The Chocolate Cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) is a herbaceous perennial in the family Asteraceae (daisy family), native to Mexico, where it is believed to be extinct in the wild. It is widely cultivated for its extraordinary deep burgundy to near-black daisy-like flower heads, which emit a distinctive vanilla-chocolate fragrance — particularly in warm weather — making it a popular and unusual ornamental plant. The genus Cosmos comprises about 40 species of flowering plants with showy composite flower heads and feathery or pinnately divided leaves. Cosmos atrosanguineus grows from tuberous roots, reaching 40–60 centimetres in height, and flowers from summer to autumn in temperate gardens. The species has not been found reproducing sexually in cultivation — all cultivated plants are believed to be sterile clones propagated vegetatively from a single introduction — raising questions about long-term genetic diversity. Despite its presumed extinction in Mexico, the species survives in cultivation worldwide, though this does not satisfy botanical criteria for in situ conservation. The IUCN lists it as Not Evaluated under current assessment protocols. The chocolate cosmos serves as an important reminder of the value of botanical gardens and horticultural collections for preserving species that have vanished from their native ranges due to agricultural conversion and other habitat pressures.

clouded magpie

The clouded magpie (Abraxas sylvata) is a geometrid moth in the family Geometridae found across temperate Europe, extending eastward through Russia to Japan. The adult wingspan measures approximately 32–42 mm, with white wings bearing a distinctive pattern of yellow-orange and dark grey to black spots and patches arranged in rows across the forewing and hindwing, creating a striking patterned appearance resembling the magpie coloring of the related magpie moth Abraxas grossulariata, but with a more yellowish, muted tone and less black — hence 'clouded.' Adults fly in one generation from June to July, resting on leaf surfaces and attending woodland flowers for nectar. The larvae feed on wych elm (Ulmus glabra) and occasionally other Ulmus species in mature deciduous woodland and woodland edges. The clouded magpie has become less common in parts of its European range due to the widespread loss of mature elms from Dutch elm disease, which devastated European elm populations from the 1970s onward. Conservation of this species requires the protection of surviving mature elm trees and management of regrowth elms in woodland ecosystems.