''Tarzetta cupularis'' is a species of

apothecia 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. As ...

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 ...

belonging to the family

Pyronemataceae The Pyronemataceae are a family of fungi in the order Pezizales. It is the largest family of the Pezizales, encompassing 75 genera and approximately 500 species. Phylogenetic analyses does not support the prior classifications of this family, an ...

. This is a species of northern Europe with occasional records from further south in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. It also occurs in North America. It appears from spring to autumn as brown to cream-coloured flask-shaped cups up to 2 cm across and 2.5 cm tall in groups in damp woodland. The related '' Tarzetta catinus'' tends to be larger with a more open cup, but the two species can only be reliably distinguished microscopically: by the shape of the

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s (those of ''T. cupularis'' being narrower) and the

paraphyses Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis. In certain fungi, they are part of the f ...

(those of ''T. cupularis'' lacking the distinctive lobed tips of ''T. catinus''). ''T. cupularis'' is inedible.

References

Other sources

External links

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''Tarzetta cupularis''
at

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

Pyronemataceae Fungi described in 1753 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Inedible fungi Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fungus species {{Pezizomycetes-stub