Cedar cup

cedar cup

Ali Mckernan

cedar cup

Ali Mckernan

Cedar cup

Enw gwyddonol: Geopora sumneriana
This fascinating cup fungus is a lovely thing to stumble upon -should you be lucky enough!

Species information

Ystadegau

The cups are 4 - 7cm across when mature, and 5cm tall

Statws cadwraethol

Uncommon to occasional (possibly overlooked)

Pryd i'w gweld

December to May

Ynghylch

Forming partially buried little crowns in the ground, the cedar cup spends most of its time concealed as a sphere below ground, before bursting through the soil to reveal its star like rays.

Sut i'w hadnabod

Although you're unlikely to mistake this for anything else, there are a couple of potential lookalikes of a similar ilk, though this is considerably larger. This thin fleshed fungus has a dark brown outer surface covered in very fine hairs, with the inside displaying a lovely pale cream colour. As it matures, the rim splits into a number of rays (between 5 and 8) to create a crown like effect. Most significantly, this grows almost exclusively with cedar, so if that's what you happen to be stood beneath whilst staring at these, then you've got yourself a cedar cup!

Dosbarthiad

Widespread but occasional.

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

This particular fungus is an 'Ascomycete', meaning it shoots its spores out from the inside surface. You can sometimes visibly see this if you puff on a sheltered fruitbody. It will look as though the cup is smoking!

Gwyliwch