Melastiza cornubiensis

Orange Cup

A small orange-red disc fungus of damp sandy and gravelly soil. It is shallowly cup-shaped to flat, and its outer surface and margin carry short, dark brown hairs. These hairs and its reticulate spores separate it from the larger, hairless Orange Peel Fungus (Aleuria aurantia).

Species profile

Edibility

Not edible

Edibility unknown; too small to be of culinary interest.

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

Habitat

Saprobic on damp sandy or gravelly soil, including paths and disturbed ground, sometimes on manured soil. Autumn to spring in Britain.

Distribution

Europe, including Britain and France. Its occurrence in North America has not been confirmed by current sources.

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Characteristics

Fruitbody: sessile apothecium 2-15 mm across, disc-shaped to shallowly saucer-shaped, pressed to the soil. Inner surface: bright orange to orange-red. Outer surface: finely downy with short brown septate hairs 55-140 um long with rounded tips. Spores: ellipsoid, about 16.5-18.5 x 9.5-10.5 um, with a raised reticulum (Faces of Fungi). Identification to species requires microscopy.