Fly Agaric vs Weeping Paperbark

Amanita muscaria compared with Melaleuca leucadendra

Key Differences

Fly Agaric is Least Concern while Weeping Paperbark is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fly Agaric	Weeping Paperbark
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Myrtales (Myrtales)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Myrtaceae
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Melaleuca
Species	Amanita muscaria	Melaleuca leucadendra

Conservation Status

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Weeping Paperbark

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fly Agaric	Weeping Paperbark
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).

Weeping Paperbark

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Libya, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa), Asia (India, Laos), North America (Dominican Republic), and South America (Brazil, Colombia, Suriname).

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.