E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Summary:
Ciboria rufofusca is an orange to chestnut brown or brown cup with a stem, growing on fallen true fir cones in spring. The same or a similar species grows on Douglas-fir in the Pacific Northwest. Beug(3) shows what looks like this species growing on a Douglas-fir cone.

It is found in WA (Kanouse). There are collections from BC at the University of British Columbia, from WA at the University of Washington, and from OR at Oregon State University. Desjardin(6) illustrated it from CA. It also occurs in Europe including Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, (Hansen), and Switzerland (Breitenbach). Douglas-fir cones have been photographed in WA and BC bearing this kind of fungus.

Upper surface:
0.3-1(1.5)cm, bladder-like when young, then goblet-shaped to saucer-shaped and expanded and flat; orange to chestnut-brown; smooth; margin "sometimes rather sinuous and split, as well as finely dusted with white", (Breitenbach), 0.3-1.5cm, dark to medium to pale brown, (Hansen), up to 1.5cm, "Prout''s brown" (Ridgway color) when fresh, (Kanouse)

Underside:
the same color as upper surface, orange to chestnut brown, frosted with white, (Breitenbach), "Prout''s brown" when fresh, (Kanouse)

Stem:
0.3-0.7cm long; brownish, darker toward base, (Breitenbach), 0.2-0.7cm x 0.07-0.15cm, (Hansen), up to 1.5cm long (Kanouse)

Microscopic:
spores 5-7 x 3-3.5 microns, oval, smooth, colorless, sometimes with 2 small droplets, uniseriate; asci 8-spored, 75-80 x 5-5.5 microns, amyloid; paraphyses slender, barely thickened toward tips, without septa, (Breitenbach), spores 5.5-7.5 x 3-3.5 microns; asci 65-90 x 5.5-6.5, (Hansen), spores 4-6 x 2-3 microns; asci 45-55 x 4-5 microns; paraphyses filiform, (Kanouse)