Common Jelly Spot vs Compact Thread-leaf Century Plant

Dacrymyces stillatus compared with Agave microceps

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Jelly Spot	Compact Thread-leaf Century Plant
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Dacrymycetes (Dacrymycetes)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Dacrymycetales (Dacrymycetales)	Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family	Dacrymycetaceae	Asparagaceae
Genus	Dacrymyces	Agave
Species	Dacrymyces stillatus	Agave microceps

Conservation Status

Common Jelly Spot

LC — Least Concern

Compact Thread-leaf Century Plant

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Jelly Spot	Compact Thread-leaf Century Plant
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Jelly Spot

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

Compact Thread-leaf Century Plant

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Common Jelly Spot

<em>Dacrymyces stillatus</em>, commonly known as the common jelly spot, is a saprotrophic fungus in the family Dacrymycetaceae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with records from five European countries and North America. The species typically grows on damp, dead, or decaying wood, particularly coniferous timber, forming small, gelatinous, orange-yellow cushions or pustules on the substrate surface. As a saprotrophic wood-decay fungus, it contributes to nutrient cycling and the decomposition of woody material in temperate forest ecosystems. The bright gelatinous fruiting bodies make it a conspicuous species when encountered on wet wood in cool, humid conditions. Diet information for this species is not available in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Compact Thread-leaf Century Plant

<em>Agave microceps</em>, the compact thread-leaf century plant, is a perennial succulent in the family Asparagaceae native to Mexico, representing one of the smaller members of the ecologically and culturally significant agave genus. Agaves are iconic succulents of arid and semi-arid regions characterised by a rosette of thick, fibrous leaves typically edged with teeth and terminating in a sharp spine. <em>Agave microceps</em> typically forms compact, densely-leaved rosettes with notably narrow, thread-margined leaves, distinguishing it from larger agave species. It inhabits rocky slopes, dry grasslands, and scrublands in its native Mexican range, adapted to well-drained soils and periods of seasonal drought. Like all agaves, it is monocarpic, flowering once after many years of vegetative growth before dying, producing a tall flower spike that provides food resources for bats, hummingbirds, and insects. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, indicating a stable population without critical current threats, though many agave species face pressure from illegal collection for the horticultural trade and habitat conversion. Agaves play important roles in native ecosystems as food sources for specialist pollinators and as habitat elements on rocky hillsides. Biological traits including average lifespan in the wild, precise rosette dimensions, and population data remain poorly documented for this species compared to more commercially important agaves.