Although I am reasonably confident with my identification here, I am not 100% sure, so if any readers have informed opinions for or against the identification, I would be grateful to hear of them.
Plectania campylospora, Brown Forest Cup, from family Sarcostomataceae, is found on rotting wood in wet forests.
Fungimap Australia give the size of the 'cup' as "to 80mm wide and 60mm high", but the 6 specimens I have seen have been no more than 20mm wide and high.
Exterior surface of Brown Forest Cup is more black than brown, and has a roughened texture. The interior of the deep cup is smooth and brown, aging to black. The short stem is slightly rough in texture, and can be crinkled as shown in my photos here.
Rough exterior and short crinkly central stem
Although reportedly growing in groups, the specimens of Plectania campylospora that I have found have been growing singly. Its dark colouring and unobtrusive nature makes this cup fungus difficult to spot in the dim light of the rainforest, but it is always a pleasure to find.
Known Australian distribution appears to be south eastern coast and ranges, including Tasmania.
A shallower cup
My sightings of Plectania campylospora
[This will be updated with new sightings]
Barrington Tops National Park, NSW - on rotting twigs on the rainforest floor - Apr, May, Nov.
New England National Park, NSW - on rotting wood on floor of wet forest - May.
The cup fungus has pushed aside wood as it emerged
Hi Gaye an interesting looking fungus, they should be called 'fairy goblets.' Don't think I have seen the stalked variety although other cup fungi are common in my area. Nice one!
ReplyDeleteJack
"Fairy Goblets", yes, that's a much more captivating name :)
ReplyDeleteI found some nice brown stalkless cup fungi in WA last year too. I was amazed at the variety of things that grew straight out of the sand. I'll have to get to work and attempt to identify my WA fungi.
October and September have been very dry in the Hunter Valley, and fungi have been very few. 2007 has been an extremely slack year for fungi appearing in my yard, in comparison to the many species in numbers during 2006.
Thank you for leaving a comment.
Regards
Gaye