Aleuria Aurantia
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''Aleuria aurantia'' (orange peel fungus) is a widespread ascomycete
fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
in the order
Pezizales The Pezizales are an order of the subphylum Pezizomycotina within the phylum Ascomycota. The order contains 16 families, 199 genera, and 1683 species. It contains a number of species of economic importance, such as morels, the black and whit ...
. The bright orange, cup-shaped
ascocarp An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascoc ...
s often resemble orange peels strewn on the ground, giving this species its
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
.


Taxonomy

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (31 December 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a Cape Colony mycologist who is recognized as one of the founders of mycology, mycological Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. Early life Persoon was born in Cape Colony at ...
described the orange peel as ''Peziza aurantia'' in 1800. The specific epithet is the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word ''aurantia'' "orange".
Karl Wilhelm Gottlieb Leopold Fuckel Karl Wilhelm Gottlieb Leopold Fuckel (3 February 1821 – 8 May 1876) was a German botanist who worked largely on fungi. He worked as an apothecary from 1836 to 1852, afterwards deriving income from a vineyard he owned in Oestrich im Rheingau.< ...
placed it the genus '' Aleuria'' in 1870.


Description

The orange
fruiting body The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
is wide, cup-shaped, externally fuzzy, and often misshapen due to crowding from other fruiting bodies. The
spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...
produce a white
spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...
, and scatter in visible clouds when disturbed.


Similar species

Similar species include '' Acervus epispartius'', '' Caloscypha fulgens'', ''
Sarcoscypha coccinea ''Sarcoscypha coccinea'', commonly known as the scarlet elf cup, or the scarlet cup, is a species of fungus in the family Sarcoscyphaceae of the order Pezizales. The fungus, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, has been found in Afri ...
'', '' Sowerbyella rhenana'', and members of the genera '' Melastiza'', '' Otidea'', ''
Peziza ''Peziza'' is a large genus of saprophytic cup fungi that grow on the ground, rotting wood, or dung. Most members of this genus are of unknown edibility and are difficult to identify as separate species without use of microscopy. The polyphyleti ...
'', '' Pithya'', and '' Pulvinula''. Particularly In Europe, ''A.'aurantia'' may be confused with species of ''Otidea'' or '' Caloscypha'' which are poisonous or of unknown edibility.


Distribution and habitat

The orange peel fungus grows throughout North America, from November to March in the West and May to November in the East. It can also be found in south Chile and in Europe. It fruits mainly on bare clay or disturbed soil.


Uses

It is generally regarded as edible, though difficult to collect intact and not necessarily choice. It can be served in thin slices and preserved by drying.


References


Further reading

*Nilsson, S. & Persson, O. 1977. ''Fungi of Northern Europe 1: Larger Fungi (Excluding Gill Fungi)''. Penguin Books. *Yao, Y.-J., and B. M. Spooner. 1995. Notes on British taxa referred to ''Aleuria''. Mycological Research 99:1515-1518. *Seaver, F. J. 1914. North American species of ''Aleuria'' and ''Aleurina''. Mycologia 6:273-278. Pyronemataceae Edible fungi Fungi of Europe Fungi described in 1794 Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Fungi of North America Fungus species {{Pezizomycetes-stub