Coastal wattle vs Common Moonwort

Acacia cyclops compared with Botrychium lunaria

Key Differences

• Coastal wattle is Least Concern while Common Moonwort is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal wattle	Common Moonwort
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Tracheophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Ophioglossales (Ophioglossales)
Family	Fabaceae	Ophioglossaceae
Genus	Acacia	Botrychium
Species	Acacia cyclops	Botrychium lunaria

Evolutionary Relationship

Coastal wattle and Common Moonwort share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Plantae. (Plants)

Conservation Status

Coastal wattle

LC — Least Concern

Common Moonwort

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal wattle	Common Moonwort
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal wattle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (13 countries), Asia (Israel), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States).

Common Moonwort

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), and North America (United States). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Coastal wattle

Coastal wattle (Acacia cyclops) is a dense, fast-growing shrub in the family Fabaceae, native to the southwestern and southern coastal regions of Western Australia, from Shark Bay south to the Nullarbor Plain. It grows on coastal dunes, sandy scrubland, and limestone substrates near the sea, where it tolerates salt spray, wind, and summer drought. Coastal wattle produces distinctive circular seeds with bright red arillate coatings, making them highly attractive to birds. Although valued in its native range for coastal stabilisation and revegetation, the species has become highly invasive in southern Africa, particularly South Africa, where it was introduced for dune stabilisation in the 19th century and has since spread extensively across the Cape Floristic Region, displacing native fynbos vegetation. It is listed among the 100 worst invasive species globally by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group. In Australia, it is assessed as Least Concern. Management of invasive populations in South Africa involves mechanical removal and biological control efforts aimed at protecting the critically threatened fynbos biome.

Common Moonwort

Common Moonwort (<em>Botrychium lunaria</em>) is a small fern in the genus <em>Botrychium</em>, family Ophioglossaceae. It is distributed across Asia, Europe, and North America, with confirmed presence in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, as well as Taiwan and the United States. The species is typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies. Common Moonwort is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it faces significant conservation challenges across its range. Its distinctive frond is divided into two parts: a sterile fan-shaped leaf portion with rounded lobes resembling a crescent moon, and a fertile spike bearing spore-bearing structures. As a fern ally rather than a flowering plant, it reproduces via spores rather than seeds. The species is associated with stable, undisturbed habitats including ancient grasslands, upland heaths, and rocky slopes. Its sensitivity to habitat disturbance and changes in land management are thought to contribute to population declines. Specific biological measurements such as lifespan and dimensions are not documented in available records.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇵🇹 Portugal 🇺🇸 United States