Scarlet Cup

(Sarcoscypha austriaca)

Conservation Status
Scarlet Cup
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

not listed

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Scarlet Cup is a medium sized, common, and widespread cup fungi. It occurs throughout Europe, in eastern North America, Mexico, and Central America. It is very common in Minnesota. It is found in early to late spring, solitary or in groups, in deciduous forests. It grows on the ground on buried or fallen hardwood twigs and branches. It is one of the first splashes of color to be seen in early spring in eastern forests.

A stalk is usually present. When present, it is up to 1½ long, to ¼ thick, minutely hairy, white and tapered, wider at the top than at the base. The length of the stalk depends on how deeply the wood on which it is growing is buried. However, it is usually described as “stubby” or “rudimentary”.

The cap is more or less cup-shaped and ¾ to 2¾ wide. The upper side is bright red and hairless. It sometimes fades to reddish-orange and becomes wrinkled, especially near the center, with age. The underside is pinkish to whitish, and downy, covered with minute, elaborately twisted and curved hairs. The character of the hairs can only be seen with a microscope. The margin is curved inward and often becomes tattered with age. There is no fringe of dark hairs on the margin.

The flesh is thin, rubbery, and whitish.

The spore print is white.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) is identical in appearance and can only be distinguished by observing microscopic features. In North America it is restricted to California and the Pacific Northwest.

Sarcoscypha dudleyi (no common name) is identical in appearance and can only be distinguished by observing microscopic features. It is much rarer.

 
     
 
Habitat and Hosts
 
 

Deciduous forests.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Season

 
 

Early to late spring

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 7, 24, 26, 29, 30.

MushroomExpert.com, David Arora’s Mushrooms Demystified, and Mushrooms of Northeast North America all state that Sarcoscypha coccinea is restricted to California and the Pacific Northwest, and Sarcoscypha austriaca and Sarcoscypha dudleyi are the species east of the Rocky Mountains.

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (Bell Museum of Natural History) and the United States National Fungus Collections (BPI) contain no records of Sarcoscypha austriaca but many records of Sarcoscypha coccinea in Minnesota. GBIF also has records for Sarcoscypha coccinea in eastern North America. All of these are either misidentified sightings of Sarcoscypha austriaca and Sarcoscypha dudleyi or more probably records unchanged from before the three species were separated.

iNaturalist has many records for Sarcoscypha coccinea in eastern North America. These are all undoubtably misidentified sightings of Sarcoscypha austriaca and Sarcoscypha dudleyi.

Sarcoscypha austriaca is a common species. Based on the number of available records, Sarcoscypha dudleyi is rare or at least rarely identified. Only a single record for the state on Minnesota exists, that from Nicollet County in 2018.

The map at left includes Sarcoscypha coccinea records from the Bell Herbarium, BPI, GBIF, and iNaturalist.

 
  9/23/2022    
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common and widespread

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Fungi (fungi)  
  Subkingdom Dikarya  
  Phylum Ascomycota (sac fungi)  
  Subphylum Pezizomycotina  
  Class Pezizomycetes  
  Subclass Pezizomycetidae  
 

Order

Pezizales  
  Family Sarcoscyphaceae (elf cups and allies)  
 

Genus

Sarcoscypha (elf cups)  
       
 

Sarcoscypha coccinea is a species complex that includes Sarcoscypha austriaca, Sarcoscypha coccinea, and Sarcoscypha dudleyi. The three can be distinguished only by microscopic examination of the spores, by the character of the hairs on the underside, also only visible with a microscope, and by where they are found.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Lachnea austriaca

Molliardiomyces coccineus

Peziza austriaca

Peziza imperialis

Scutellinia imperialis

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

Scarlet Cup

Scarlet Elf Cap

Scarlet Elfcup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this fungus.

 
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Honey Fae (Farah)

 
 

Found these two growing the morning after a spring storm.

 
    Scarlet Cup      
 

Deah Jean

 
    Scarlet Cup   Scarlet Cup  
 

Nancy Falkum

 
 

Scarlet cup

 
    Scarlet Cup      
 

Lisa Dahl

 
 

dense woods.

Appeared to be coming from the woodland floor but most likely attached to rotting wood.

  Scarlet Cup  
           
    Scarlet Cup   Scarlet Cup  
 

Mike Monroe

 
    Scarlet Cup      
 

Kari

 
 

Scarlet Elf?

I stumbled across a patch of these today (12/23/20) deep in a ravine, tucked under some leaves and dead trees. They looked just like the other pictures in your gallery. I attached a picture of one that I brought home to identify. The red is much brighter than it appears on this attachment.

However, I found it strange that your website indicates they appear in the spring. I thought I read on another site that they can be found in the autumn, in New England, perhaps(?)

  Scarlet Cup  
 

Michelle Goble

 
 

Found this today in our back wooded area in Denmark Township. Never seen this before, had to do a Google search. So pretty!

  Scarlet Cup  
 

John Roby

 
    Scarlet Cup      
 

Sharon Eykyn

 
    Scarlet Cup   Scarlet Cup  
 

Bonnie Kleist

 
    Scarlet Cup      
 

Garrett Knabe

 
 

Found some growing out in the woodlands

 
    Scarlet Cup      
 

Mike Bezdicek

 
 

I found two today in Brown County.

 
    Scarlet Cup      
           
 

This time, this Scarlet Elf cap Was found in Minneopa State Park, Blue Earth County.

 
    Scarlet Cup      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
    Scarlet Cup   Scarlet Cup  
           
    Scarlet Cup      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Scarlet Elf Cup Fungus (Sarcoscypha spp.)
Andree Reno Sanborn
  Scarlet Elf Cup Fungus (Sarcoscypha spp.)  
Ohnivec rakouský Sarcoscypha austriaca
Jiří Laštůvka - Kudláček
   
 
About

Uploaded on Feb 3, 2011

No description available.

 

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this fungus.

 
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Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
  Ohnivec rakúsky /Sarcoscypha austriaca/
ITVRAJEC
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Apr 12, 2009

Huba

 
  Scarlet elf cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) - 2013-02-09
W3stlander
 
   
 
About

Published on Feb 11, 2013

Sarcoscypha coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet elf cup, or the scarlet cup, is a species of fungus in the Sarcoscyphaceae family of the Pezizales order.

-----------------
Rode kelkzwam (Sarcoscypha coccinea). Geflimd in het Staelduinse bos in 's-Gravenzande. Twee wandelaars die mij rond zagen scharrelen met een camera gaven me de tip om te gaan kijken in de buurt van de bunkers. Dank voor de tip!

51.97198 4.17877

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this fungus.

 
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Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Honey Fae (Farah)
5/4/2022

Location: Hennepin County

Found these two growing the morning after a spring storm.

Scarlet Cup

 
  Deah Jean
4/11/2022

Location: Taylors Falls, MN

Scarlet Cup  
  Nancy Falkum
5/14/2018

Location: Bald Eagle Bluff SNA

Scarlet cup

Scarlet Cup  
 

Lisa Dahl
4/29/2021

Location: Greenfield, private woods in Hennepin Cty

dense woods. Appeared to be coming from the woodland floor but most likely attached to rotting wood.

Scarlet Cup

 
  Mike Monroe
3/13/2021

Location: Near old cedar bridge, Bloomington,MN. On the path on north side of river about half mile west of Old Cedar bridge.

Scarlet Cup

 
  Michelle Goble
4/23/2020

Location: Denmark Township, Washington County

Found this today in our back wooded area in Denmark Township. Never seen this before, had to do a Google search. So pretty!

Scarlet Cup

 
  Les Harrison
4/10/2020

Location: Wright County

Discovered in multitude in Stanley Eddie County Park in Wright County

 
  John Roby
4/2/2020

Location: Skyline, MN, Blue Earth County

Scarlet Cup

 
  Sharon Eykyn
3/30/2020

Location: Mankato, MN

Scarlet Cup

 
  Sheila
3/27/2020

Location: Haverhill Township, Olmsted County

 

 
  Bonnie Kleist
2/22/2017

Location: Good Thunder, MN

Scarlet Cup

 
  Jessica Hibl
4/23/2016

Location: Maplewood State Park, Ottertail County

We took the woodland trail that is an easy hike for my 6 year old. I bet we saw close to 60 or 70 along this short trail and that was just within eye sight of the trail. It was a fun adventure trying to see who could find the biggest. On one 6 foot branch alone there were probably 20 bright scarlet cups growing.

 

 
  Garrett Knabe
4/16/2016

Location: Isanti, Minnesota

Found some growing out in the woodlands

Scarlet Cup

 
  Mike Bezdicek
5/2/2014

Location: Brown County

I found two today in brown county.

Scarlet Cup

 
  Mike Bezdicek
4/30/2014

Location: Minneopa State Park, Blue Earth County

This time, this Scarlet Elf cap Was found in Minneopa State Park, blue earth county.

Scarlet Cup

 
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
   

 

 

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