''Guepiniopsis alpina'', commonly known as the jelly cup, alpine jelly cone, or poor man's gumdrop, is a species of

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 family Dacrymycetaceae. The small, gelatinous

fruit bodies 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 ...

are orange and cone- or cup-shaped, producing a yellowish

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. ...

. Found in western North America and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, the fungus grows on decaying

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

wood. It is of little to no culinary interest.

Taxonomy

The fungus was first described in 1901 by

Samuel Mills Tracy Samuel Mills Tracy (1847–1920) was an American botanist. Biography Samuel Tracy was born in 1847 in Hartford, Vermont. He lived in Illinois with his parents, and later moved to Wisconsin. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted with the Union ...

and

Franklin Sumner Earle Franklin Sumner Earle (September 4, 1856 – January 31, 1929) was an American mycologist who specialized in fungal plant diseases. He was the first ever mycologist to be employed at the New York Botanical Garden, and was the author of ''The Gene ...

under the name ''Guepinia alpina'' in 1901. It was later transferred to ''Heterotextus'' in 1932, and then to '' Guepiniopsis'' in 1938. It is commonly known as the "jelly cup", "alpine jelly cone", or "poor man's gumdrop".

Description

The

are cone-shaped, measuring up to across. They hang from a narrow attachment to the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

. They are bright yellow to orange, with a gelatinous texture and a smooth and sticky surface on top, but have external hairs. The dried fruit bodies deepen to reddish-orange and become hard. The

basidiospore A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromos ...

s are produced on the inner surface of the cup and are yellowish in deposit. The spores are sausage shaped, 11–18 by 4–6

μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...

, and have three or four

septa SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

. Like all members of the

Dacrymycetes The Dacrymycetes are a class of fungi in the Basidiomycota. The class currently contains the single order Dacrymycetales, with a second proposed order Unilacrymales now treated at the family level. The order contains four families and has a cosm ...

, the

basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

are .

Similar species

Species with which ''G. alpina'' could be confused include ''

Bisporella citrina ''Calycina citrina'', commonly known as yellow fairy cups or lemon discos, is a species of fungus in the family Pezizellaceae. The fungus produces tiny yellow cups up to in diameter, often without stalks, that fruit in groups or dense clusters o ...

'', ''

Dacrymyces capitatus ''Dacrymyces'' is a genus of fungi in the family Dacrymycetaceae. Species are saprotrophs and occur on dead wood. Their distribution is worldwide. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are ceraceous to gelatinous, often yellow to orange, and typically di ...

'' (up to 3 millimetres wide), and '' D. stillatus'' (never cone-shaped). '' Guepiniopsis chrysocomus'' is a related species with a somewhat similar appearance. It has a yellow fruit body, larger spores, and uses rotting hardwood as a

Habitat and distribution

The fruit bodies grow scattered, in groups, or clusters on decaying, bark-free

wood. A snowbank fungus, it is most common at higher elevations after snowmelt in the spring. It is found in North America west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. In 2010, it was recorded for the first time in

. It may also appear in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Edibility

The edibility of ''G. alpina'' is unknown, but it is too small to be considered for the table. It has been claimed to be edible, but tastes bland at best. One guide classifies it as inedible.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q14950889 Fungi described in 1901 Fungi of Asia Fungi of North America Snowbank fungi Fungus species