Cyathus stercoreus

Dung-loving Bird's Nest

A small, shaggy-walled bird's nest fungus of dung and manured soil, with a smooth, dark gray to bluish-black inner wall and many small black peridioles. It is the Cyathus species most used in laboratory research, because it fruits readily in pure culture.

Species profile

Edibility

Not edible

Inedible.

Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.

Habitat

Saprobic on dung, dung-enriched soil and old bonfire sites; also recorded on sand dunes.

Distribution

Worldwide.

Characteristics

Fruit body: a funnel- to barrel-shaped cup 6-15 mm tall and 4-8 mm wide at the mouth; outer wall shaggy, golden brown to blackish brown, wearing smooth with age; inner wall smooth (not grooved), gray to bluish-black. Peridioles: about 20 per cup, blackish, 1-2 mm across. Spores: large, roughly spherical, typically 20-35 x 20-25 um, but variable in size (Wikipedia).

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