Common corncockle vs Common Rustgill

Agrostemma githago compared with Gymnopilus penetrans

Key Differences

• Common corncockle is Critically Endangered while Common Rustgill is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common corncockle	Common Rustgill
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Caryophyllaceae	Hymenogastraceae
Genus	Agrostemma	Gymnopilus
Species	Agrostemma githago	Gymnopilus penetrans

Conservation Status

Common corncockle

CR — Critically Endangered

Common Rustgill

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common corncockle	Common Rustgill
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common corncockle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including montane grasslands and shrublands, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 13 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Lesotho), Asia (7 countries), Europe (24 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Chile). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Rustgill

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

Common corncockle

<em>Agrostemma githago</em>, commonly known as common corncockle, is an annual flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. Once a widespread weed of cereal crops across Europe, Asia, and beyond, this species is now Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to the dramatic decline caused by modern agricultural practices, particularly improved grain cleaning and herbicide use. Corncockle is a tall, slender plant covered in silky white hairs, bearing large, solitary pink to purple flowers with distinctive dark veining. Its seeds contain toxic saponin compounds called githagins, which historically contaminated grain supplies. The species now survives primarily in wildflower conservation areas, seed banks, and traditional farmland conservation schemes. It typically grows in open, disturbed arable soils with full sun exposure. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Common Rustgill

<em>Gymnopilus penetrans</em>, the common rustgill, is a saprotrophic basidiomycete fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae, commonly found across temperate regions of Europe and beyond. It has been recorded in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, typically fruiting on decaying conifer wood, stumps, buried roots, and woody debris in forests and woodland habitats. The fruiting bodies are small to medium-sized mushrooms with tawny orange to rust-brown caps, typically 2–7 centimeters in diameter, and bright rusty-orange gills that give the species its common name. The stem is similarly colored and typically fibrous. As a wood-decaying fungus, common rustgill plays an important ecological role in the decomposition of dead conifer timber and the recycling of nutrients in forest ecosystems. The species produces minute, roughened, rusty-brown spores. It is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The common rustgill typically fruits from late summer through autumn. It may occasionally be confused with related <em>Gymnopilus</em> species; some members of the genus contain potentially toxic or psychoactive compounds, though <em>G. penetrans</em> is generally considered of low toxicity. Biological traits such as average lifespan and detailed dietary substrate specificity remain poorly documented in comprehensive ecological databases.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden