Humaria hemisphaerica
Humaria hemisphaerica is a species of fungus in the family Pyronemataceae. In the UK it has the recommended English name of glazed cup;[1] in North America it has been called the hairy fairy cup[2] or the brown-haired fairy cup.[3] Ascocarps (fruit bodies) are cup-shaped and can be recognized by their smooth, white inner surface and hairy, brown outer surface. The species is ectomycorrhizal and occurs in Europe and North America. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word hemisphaericum, meaning half a sphere.
| Humaria hemisphaerica | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Pezizomycetes |
| Order: | Pezizales |
| Family: | Pyronemataceae |
| Genus: | Humaria |
| Species: | H. hemisphaerica |
| Binomial name | |
| Humaria hemisphaerica (F.H. Wigg.) Fuckel (1870) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Peziza hemisphaerica | |
Humaria hemisphaerica | |
|---|---|
 | Smooth hymenium |
 | Hymenium attachment is not applicable |
| Lacks a stipe |
 | Ecology is mycorrhizal |
 | Edibility is inedible |
Taxonomy
This species was originally described in 1780 by German mycologist Friedrich Heinrich Wiggers as Peziza hemisphaerica. Fries placed it within the Lachnea series, a name he applied to cup fungi with hairy apothecia.[4] In 1870 Leopold Fuckel transferred P. hemisphaerica to the genus Humaria.[5]
Description
Humaria hemisphaerica has fruiting bodies (apothecia) that typically measure 2 to 3 cm (3⁄4 to 1+1⁄8 in) in diameter by 1 to 1.5 cm (3⁄8 to 5⁄8 in) deep.[6] The fruiting bodies are initially spherical and expand to become cuplike at the fungus matures. This species typically does not have a stipe―when it does, it is present as a small abrupt base. The inner surface of the fruiting body (the hymenium) is white, while the outer hairy surface is brown and covered with brown hairs that taper to a sharp point. These hairs are 400–500 x 15–20 μm. The ascospores are elliptical, hyaline, 20–22 x 10–11 μm, and have 2–3 oil droplets.[7] The fungus is inedible.[3]
Habitat
Humaria hemisphaerica grows solitarily, scattered, or in groups on the ground or sometimes on rotten wood in wooded areas.[2] In North America, it is common in the Pacific Northwest.[8]
Similar species
There are several other cup fungi with hairy exteriors that may be confused with H. hemisphaerica. Jafnea semitotsa is larger (2–5 cm diameter) with a brown interior and a short stipe. Trichophaea boudieri and Trichophaea bullata are smaller (1–6 mm diameter).Trichophaea abundans is another small species that prefers to grow in burnt areas.[2]
References
- Holden L. (April 2022). "English names for fungi April 2022". British Mycological Society. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- Arora D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. Berkeley, Calif: Ten Speed Press. pp. 839–840. ISBN 0-89815-169-4.
- Roody WC. (2003). Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 465. ISBN 0-8131-9039-8.
- Fries EM. (1823). Systema mycologicum. Vol 2. Ex Officina Berlingiana, Lundae, Sweden. 620 pp.
- Fuckel L. (1870). Symbolae mycologicae. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der rheinischen Pilze. Jahrbuch des Nassauischen Vereins für Naturkunde 23–24:1–459.
- Rosanne A. Healy; Huffman, Donald R.; Lois H. Tiffany; George Knaphaus (2008). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of the Midcontinental United States (Bur Oak Guide). Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-58729-627-7.
- Tylutki, Edmund E. (1979). Mushrooms of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. Moscow: University Press of Idaho. p. 90. ISBN 0-89301-062-6.
- Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5.