Cigar flower vs Fly Agaric

Cuphea ignea compared with Amanita muscaria

Key Differences

Cigar flower is Not Evaluated while Fly Agaric is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cigar flower	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	Lythraceae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Cuphea	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Cuphea ignea	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Cigar flower

NE — Not Evaluated

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cigar flower

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Congo (DRC), South Africa), Asia (India, Indonesia, Taiwan), Europe (Sweden), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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).

Cigar flower

Cigar flower (Cuphea ignea) is a small, shrubby plant in the family Lythraceae, native to Mexico and the Caribbean islands, particularly Jamaica. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental garden plant in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The plant produces distinctive tubular flowers in brilliant orange-red with a dark tip ringed in white and purple, giving the appearance of a glowing cigar—hence its common name. The flowers are highly attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies, making cigar flower a popular addition to wildlife gardens and containers. It grows as a compact perennial subshrub, typically reaching 30–60 centimeters in height, and flowers prolifically throughout the growing season. In temperate regions it is usually grown as an annual or overwintered indoors. Cuphea ignea prefers well-drained soils with full sun to partial shade. The species is not formally assessed by the IUCN. In its native Mexican and Caribbean range, it grows in open rocky slopes, forest margins, and disturbed habitats. The genus Cuphea comprises hundreds of species and is under investigation for the seed oil content of some members, which contains medium-chain fatty acids of potential industrial interest. Cigar flower has naturalized in parts of Florida and other warm regions outside its native range.

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.