Common Stonewort vs Fly Agaric

Chara vulgaris compared with Amanita muscaria

Key Differences

• Common Stonewort is Endangered while Fly Agaric is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Stonewort	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Charophyta (Charophyta)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Charophyceae (Charophyceae)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Charales (Charales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Characeae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Chara	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Chara vulgaris	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Common Stonewort

EN — Endangered

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Stonewort	Fly Agaric
Diet	—	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	—	1 years
Average Length	—	20 cm
Average Weight	—	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Stonewort

Habitat

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

Range

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

Fly Agaric

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

Common Stonewort

<em>Chara vulgaris</em>, the common stonewort, is a species of charophyte green alga in the family Characeae, order Charales. It typically grows submerged in freshwater habitats including ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams, often forming dense mats on the substrate. The species has a broad geographic distribution spanning Asia, Europe, and the Americas, tolerating a range of water conditions from clear to moderately turbid. <em>Chara vulgaris</em> is notable for its heavily calcified, whorled structure that gives stoneworts their characteristic encrusted appearance and makes them valuable as paleoclimate indicators in sediment records. As a primary producer, it contributes to aquatic food webs and provides habitat for invertebrates and juvenile fish. Biological traits such as individual lifespan, precise growth rates, and specific consumer relationships remain poorly documented in the literature. Despite its wide range, <em>Chara vulgaris</em> is assessed as Endangered by the IUCN, reflecting significant population declines attributed to freshwater pollution, eutrophication, and habitat degradation across much of its range. Targeted conservation of clean, oligotrophic water bodies is essential for its persistence.

Fly Agaric

Among the most iconic and recognizable fungi on Earth, fly agaric mushrooms display striking red caps with white flecked warts across boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite their fairy-tale appearance, they contain potent psychoactive compounds including muscimol and ibotenic acid and are moderately toxic. They form critical mycorrhizal symbioses with birch, pine, and spruce trees, exchanging mineral nutrients for carbon and playing essential roles in boreal forest nutrient cycling.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States