Cyathus stercoreus

Morphological Features:

Basidiocarp composed of sessile fruiting bodies slightly over 1 cm in height and rarely reaching this dimension in width. In their initial stage, they are more or less globose or pear-shaped, and are covered with hairs which, in this case, are soft to the touch, not bristly, brownish-chestnut in color. Upon opening and reaching maturity, the fungus assumes a nest-like or, more commonly, cup-shaped form. Its peridium is arranged in three perfectly differentiated layers: the outer zone is hairy and brownish-chestnut; that membrane-like covering over the opening, known as the epifragm, is membranous and whitish, disappearing over time. Finally, the inner zone is smooth, unstriate, dark gray, sometimes nearly black, with a shiny appearance.

Gleba composed of peridioles or "eggs", lentil-shaped, numbering approximately 10 and clustered inside the fruiting body. They are very dark in color and markedly shiny, and are attached to the base of the cup by a delicate and ephemeral funiculus.

Stipe absent; adheres directly to the substrate.

Flesh insignificant, without notable odor or taste.

Habitat:

This is a species whose occurrence is less frequent than other species of its genus. It is most commonly found on dung, generally equine, but not exclusively; although it also appears more occasionally on decaying woody debris. Fruiting from spring to late autumn.

Observations:

A rare species of the genus Cyathus, typically coprophilous, distinguished from Cyathus striatus by having a smooth and shiny inner zone, unstriate, and less bristly outer hairs. Cyathus olla is also similar, but lacks such a hairy exterior. Microscopically, this species is easily distinguished by its spores being significantly larger than those of the other two mentioned species.