Encoelia furfuracea
Spring Hazelcup
Names
Scientific: Encoelia furfuracea
English: Spring Hazelcup
(old scientific names found on the FRDBI Cenangium furfuraceum and Peziza furfuracea)
Do you have a patch of old hazel or alder growing near you? If so, you might want to check it out for another distinctive fungus that is rarely recorded in Scotland. Can we also find out if alder is an overlooked host for this species – see the recent finds on Speyside mentioned below!
Description
This species is one of the ascomycetes or cup fungi and because the spores are released under pressure, the fertile part of the fruiting structure does not have to be aligned with gravity to ensure the successful dispersal of its spores (More information on the different divisions within the kingdom of the fungi).
Habitat
Jo Weightman (Field Mycology 1.1) suggests that this fungus is an early coloniser of newly dead or moribund poles of hazel (Corylus avellana) and only rarely found on long dead or fallen wood. Interestingly, Jo also suggests that poles already supporting the fruiting structures of the commonly occurring Stereum rugosum should be avoided, as our target species will not be found fruiting there. Poles with Tremella mesenterica, Hypoxylon fuscum or Diatrypella favacea already established however, will often support E. furfuracea. It is well known that there is a succession of wood rotting fungal species with early colonisers gradually getting out competed by other fungi and the above is most likely to reflect a hazel wood succession process.
Don’t forget to look out on alder (Alnus glutinosus) too and maybe even hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) as there is one English record of this species on hornbeam, which also hosts two other Encoelia species (E. glaberrima and E. carpini). Stewart’s notes on finding the species in alder are as follows – they are a little bit different to hazel:
E. furfuracea emerges through the bark, either solitary or as clusters of tightly closed brown cups with a scurfy outer surface. These structures open up to reveal a smooth, dark brown or tan fertile inner surface from which the spores are released (colours appear to vary somewhat according to atmospheric humidity). The cups can flatten out completely to about 1.5cm across although some of them usually retain an enclosed form.
This species associates with hazel although the literature does mention that it will also occur on alder. Indeed there are scattered records of it found on alder in England on the FRDBI but until this December, none on that host in Scotland. Stewart Taylor has now put that right by recording the species on alder at six different locations on Speyside (see the picture below under ‘habitat’). Is this another case of overlooking something because we are not expecting to see it there – anyway, Stewart’s finds prompted me to make this fungus of the month!
Stewart’s notes:
"The first finds were on alder branches on the ground. However, I have got my eye in for detached branches stuck in trees and I have been looking towards the ends of big branches to where they reduce to about 1” to 2” in diameter."
See the picture above of Stewart pointing to a typical spot on alder.
Fruiting
The majority of records in Scotland occur between December and May with single records from June, July and August and then nothing until December. In general the species is considered to be a late autumn – spring fruiting species.
Please remember to submit your records of this species here.
Distribution
Widespread but occasional in Scotland although it can be locally abundant. More frequent in the south of England. The total number of records for this species on the Fungal Records Database of Britain and Ireland (2012) is 491 with 16 of those originating from six sites within Scotland (interestingly the Mull and Nedd 10k squares do not appear on the NBN Gateway map). Recent records from Speyside are not included in these figures.
Please remember to submit your records to your local recording group or via the Scottish Fungi online recording form.
Liz Holden, 2012