”I saw a flash of red on the woodland floor and it was an empty bottle of vodka. Turned around and spotted what I had thought it was. A Scarlet Elf Cup
GeorgeFlavour Fred
The Scarlet Elfcup (Sarcoscypha austriaca) is a striking mushroom shouting about itself by contrasting with the moss and decaying branches. It is quite easy to confuse it with the Ruby Elfcup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) so much so it’s a widely reported confusion as the only significant difference is seen by the difference in tiny hairs when looking under a microscope.
They are saprophytic (rotting dead wood) cup Funghi known that fit into the classification “Ascomycetes”. Ascomycetes produce their spores from “asci” that cover their spore releasing surface. So here on the surface of the cups you will find asci which are best thought of as a sack of spores that release when ready. Rather than dropping them through pores/gills/tubes being basidiomycetes. The shooting is observed here by me blowing on them which triggers the sacs on all over the surface holding collections of spores to simultaneously shoot out. Entertained me but obviously great work being done here and the trigger is actually the temperature. These deep red/crimson with a variety of shapes are out and do make sure you have the colour correct as there are other structurally similar items you could confuse them with. As always ID is key. * images contain the scarlet elf cup on a Green Elf Cup (Chlorociboria aeruginascens) log where I placed them on top after gathering. Have you seen one before?
