Fly Agaric vs Lantana

Amanita muscaria compared with Lantana camara

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fly Agaric	Lantana
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Lamiales (Lamiales)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Verbenaceae
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Lantana
Species	Amanita muscaria	Lantana camara

Conservation Status

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Lantana

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic 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).

Lantana

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (40 countries), Asia (30 countries), Europe (10 countries), North America (6 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (5 countries).

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.