Sarcoscypha austriaca

9 February 2008 Berkshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin

Species

Common Name

Scarlet Elf Cup

Fruiting Body

Cup shaped, inner surface smooth, scarlet, outer surface whitish to pinkish, attached to the substrate by a thick stem, to about 5cm across

Flesh

White, with a thin red layer inside the cup, firm, tough

Smell

Indistinct

Taste

Indistinct

Season

Winter to early Spring

Distribution

Infrequent

Habitat

On dead wood

Spore Print

White

Microscopic Features

Spores ellipsoidal, often with flattened or indented ends, with multiple oil drops (24-32) x (12-14) µm². Excipular hairs (those on the outside surface of the cup) curly.

Edibility

Edible

Notes

Austriaca means 'originating from Austria'. Microscopy is required to separate this fungus from Sarcoscypha coccinea and Sarcoscypha jurana (which has not been recorded in Britian). S. austriaca is believed to be the most common species. For a key see Field Mycology 3 (1) page 13. S. coccinea has spores with rounded ends, and excipular hairs that are +/- straight.

Additional Photographs

21 February 2009 Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin

9 February 2008 Berkshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin

Spores from a collection made on 18 April 2008 Bedfordshrie. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin

Excipular hairs viewed with a x40 microscope objective. 21 February 2009 Surrey . Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin