Microstoma floccosa

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by Michael Kuo

This odd little fungus is unmistakable, but you just about have to be crawling through the woods on hands and knees to keep from overlooking it. No other cup fungus looks like it, with its (proportionally) long stem and dense white hairs over a scarlet cup. Its relative, Sarcoscypha occidentalis, is also small and scarlet, but lacks the hairs and usually forms a wider "cup."

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic on decaying hardwood sticks and logs (sometimes buried), early summer and summer; primarily east of the Rocky Mountains, especially in the southeast.

Fruiting Body: Goblet shaped to cup shaped, to about 1 cm wide; fertile surface ("top" or "inner" surface) scarlet red, smooth; sterile surface ("under" or "outer" surface) scarlet, with prominent, dense white hairs; stem 3-5 cm long, 1.5-5 mm thick, whitish, hairy, often curving; flesh thin.

Microscopic Features: Spores 20-35 x 15-17 µ; smooth; elliptical, with narrow ends.

REFERENCES: (Schweinitz) Raithelhuber. (Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986; Lincoff, 1992.) Herb. Kuo 06160206.

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, December). Microstoma floccosa. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/microstoma_floccosa.html