vs coast amaranth

Clitocybe subspadicea compared with Amaranthus pumilus

Key Differences

• is Data Deficient while coast amaranth is Extinct.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		coast amaranth
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Tricholomataceae	Amaranthaceae
Genus	Clitocybe	Amaranthus
Species	Clitocybe subspadicea	Amaranthus pumilus

Conservation Status

DD — Data Deficient

coast amaranth

EX — Extinct

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		coast amaranth
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

coast amaranth

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Japan.

Clitocybe subspadicea is an agaric fungus in the family Tricholomataceae native to temperate European forests. The species epithet subspadicea indicates a date-brown or chestnut-brown coloration ('spadiceus' meaning date-brown in Latin), somewhat darker than the whitish or pale grey tones typical of many Clitocybe species, making it more readily distinguished in the field. It fruits in autumn on forest floors of deciduous and mixed woodlands, where it decomposes leaf litter and organic matter as a saprotrophic fungus. The cap is depressed to funnel-shaped, gills are decurrent and crowded, and the stipe is cylindrical and slender, following the typical Clitocybe growth form. The darker pigmentation may reflect production of melanins or other pigment compounds providing protection against UV radiation or desiccation during fruiting. Documentation of species like C. subspadicea through careful field work and herbarium specimens contributes to understanding the remarkable macrofungal diversity of European temperate forests, where hundreds of agaric species perform essential ecological roles in energy flow and nutrient cycling.

coast amaranth

Coast amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is an annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae, native to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the eastern United States, where it once grew on coastal foredunes, beach strand, and shell-hash substrates above the high tide line from New York south to South Carolina. It is a low-growing, fleshy plant with small, rounded leaves and inconspicuous green flowers typical of the genus. Coast amaranth is assessed as Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN, as it has not been reliably documented from wild populations since the mid-20th century; the last confirmed collections date to the 1960s. The species' decline and likely extinction resulted from intense human pressure on Atlantic coastal habitats through shoreline development, beach stabilisation, vehicular traffic on beaches, and increased storm frequency disrupting pioneer dune vegetation. It is federally listed as Threatened in the United States, though this listing predates confirmed extinction in the wild. A small number of ex-situ accessions may exist in botanical garden collections. Genetic material and seed banking efforts represent the only remaining conservation options for this critically reduced species.