Brittle Bladderfern vs Fly Agaric

Cystopteris tenuis compared with Amanita muscaria

Key Differences

Brittle Bladderfern is Not Evaluated while Fly Agaric is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brittle Bladderfern	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Plantae (पादप)	Fungi (फफूंद)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Cystopteridaceae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Cystopteris	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Cystopteris tenuis	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Brittle Bladderfern

NE — Not Evaluated

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brittle Bladderfern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Canada and 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).

Brittle Bladderfern

The Brittle Bladderfern (Cystopteris tenuis) is a species in the genus Cystopteris. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

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.