Cuckoo-Bread vs Fly Agaric

Oxalis acetosella compared with Amanita muscaria

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cuckoo-Bread	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Oxalidales (Oxalidales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Oxalidaceae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Oxalis	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Oxalis acetosella	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Cuckoo-Bread

LC — Least Concern

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cuckoo-Bread	Fly Agaric
Diet	—	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	—	1 years
Average Length	—	20 cm
Average Weight	—	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cuckoo-Bread

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries) and North America (United States).

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).

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:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States