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Peziza domiciliana

[ Ascomycetes > Pezizales > Pezizaceae > Peziza . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This brownish cup fungus surprises people by appearing in their houses, often through cracks in concrete or masonry. It is also found in sandstone and in crumbling building remains, as well as in carpets, plaster, shower stalls, and so on. Peziza domiciliana is not the only species of Peziza that could conceivably grow in such settings, but it is the species that is usually found indoors or in concrete. Precise identification, therefore, requires microscopic analysis (see the list of microscopic features below).

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic, growing alone or gregariously in indoor settings or outside in garages, concrete rubble, coal bins, sand, and so on; year-round; widely distributed in North America.

Fruiting Body: When young circular in outline and cup-shaped, sometimes with a tiny stem; in age flattening out to become irregularly saucer-shaped (but usually retaining a depressed center); 2-10 cm wide; upper surface at first whitish, darkening to yellowish brown or pale brown, smooth or wrinkled; under surface paler brown or whitish, finely mealy; flesh pale, sometimes bruising slowly yellowish; odor not distinctive; often surrounded by whitish mycelium.

Microscopic Features: Spores 11-15 x 6-10 µ; smooth or slightly roughened at maturity; without oil droplets or with 2 small droplets. Asci eight-spored; with blue tips in Melzer's Reagent; up to 250 x 12 µ. Paraphyses slender; septate; with slightly swollen tips.


REFERENCES: Cooke, 1877. (Saccardo, 1889; Seaver, 1928; Breitenbach & Kränzlin, 1984; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Horn, Kay & Abel, 1993; Barron, 1999; McNeil, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 04211001.


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Peziza domiciliana

Peziza domiciliana

Peziza domiciliana
Asci, paraphyses, and spores



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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2012, February). Peziza domiciliana. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/peziza_domiciliana.html.