Coastal Mushoom vs Common Button Lichen

Agaricus litoralis compared with Buellia erubescens

Key Differences

• Coastal Mushoom is Least Concern while Common Button Lichen is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal Mushoom	Common Button Lichen
Kingdom same	Fungi (Fungi)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Caliciales (Caliciales)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Caliciaceae
Genus	Agaricus (Button Mushrooms)	Buellia
Species	Agaricus litoralis	Buellia erubescens

Evolutionary Relationship

Coastal Mushoom and Common Button Lichen share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Fungi. (Fungi)

Conservation Status

Coastal Mushoom

LC — Least Concern

Common Button Lichen

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal Mushoom	Common Button Lichen
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal Mushoom

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Common Button Lichen

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, and United States.

Coastal Mushoom

Agaricus litoralis, the coastal mushroom, is a saprotrophic agaric fungus in the family Agaricaceae occurring in sand dunes, coastal grassland, and sandy soil habitats along the coasts of northwestern Europe, with confirmed records from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The genus Agaricus contains the familiar cultivated button mushroom (A. bisporus) along with hundreds of wild species, and members are characterized by a ring on the stem and browning, discoloring, or non-discoloring flesh when cut, features used in field identification. Agaricus litoralis is a medium-sized mushroom producing white to cream-colored caps 4–10 centimeters across with pinkish then dark brown gills and a stout stem with a double ring, fruiting in sand dune hollows and the grassy margins of coastal habitats from summer through autumn. The specific epithet litoralis refers directly to its coastal habitat preference. As a saprotroph, it decomposes organic matter in the sandy soil substrate, releasing nutrients back into the ecosystem. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, being relatively widespread in suitable coastal sandy habitat across northwestern Europe. Like many coastal fungi, it is specifically adapted to the nutrient-poor, well-drained, alkaline conditions of stabilized sand dune systems.

Common Button Lichen

<em>Buellia erubescens</em>, commonly known as the common button lichen, is a lichen species with documented occurrences across Asia, Europe, and North America, including countries such as Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States. It typically colonizes diverse terrestrial surfaces, often found on bark, rock, or other substrates in temperate and boreal environments. Common button lichen belongs to the genus <em>Buellia</em> within the family Caliciaceae. As a crustose lichen, it typically forms tightly adhered, crust-like thalli on the surfaces it colonizes, making it characteristic of stable, undisturbed substrates. Biological traits such as average lifespan, thallus size, and biomass of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. The species has not yet been formally evaluated by the IUCN, and its global conservation status therefore remains undetermined. Its occurrence across multiple continents suggests a wide ecological tolerance, though detailed population data and trend assessments are currently lacking for this taxon.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden