Fly Agaric vs Tumbling Puffball

Amanita muscaria compared with Bovista pila

Key Differences

Fly Agaric is Least Concern while Tumbling Puffball is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fly Agaric	Tumbling Puffball
Kingdom same	Fungi (Fungi)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum same	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class same	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order same	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Lycoperdaceae
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Bovista
Species	Amanita muscaria	Bovista pila

Evolutionary Relationship

Fly Agaric and Tumbling Puffball share a common ancestor at the Order level: Agaricales. (Gilled Mushrooms)

Vista Order: Agaricales

Conservation Status

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Tumbling Puffball

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fly Agaric	Tumbling Puffball
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).

Tumbling Puffball

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Brazil and United States.

Fly Agaric

El matamoscas (Amanita muscaria) es uno de los hongos más icónicos y reconocibles de la Tierra, con llamativos sombreros rojos con manchas blancas en los bosques boreales del hemisferio norte. A pesar de su apariencia de cuento de hadas, contiene potentes compuestos psicoactivos como muscimol y ácido iboténico y es moderadamente tóxico. Forma simbiosis micorrícicas esenciales con abedules, pinos y abetos, intercambiando nutrientes minerales por carbono y desempeñando roles fundamentales en el ciclo de nutrientes de los bosques boreales.