Peziza vesiculosa Bull.
common dung cup
Pezizaceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
common dung cup
Pezizaceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
Species Information
Summary:
Features include 1) a permanently cup-shaped fruitbody with an incurved margin, 2) light yellowish brown upper surface that may develop wrinkles or blisters centrally, 3) whitish to brown exterior that is minutely roughened or scurfy, 4) absent or short stout stem, 5) growth on manure piles, manured straw or hay, or heavily fertilized soil, and 6) microscopic characters.
Odor:
none (Lincoff(1))
Taste:
none (Lincoff(1))
Microscopic:
spores 18-23 x 10-13 microns, elliptic, smooth, colorless, without droplets; asci 8-spored, 320-370 x 17-24 microns, positive reaction to iodine; paraphyses "slender, septate, and slightly constricted at the septa (moniliform)", tip slightly widened, (Breitenbach), spores 20-24 x 11-14 microns, elliptic, smooth; asci up to 380 x 25 microns; paraphyses "slender, straight, scarcely clavate", (Dennis), spores 18-24 x 10-14 microns, elliptic, smooth, without oil droplets, (Arora), ascus tips stain blue in iodine (McKnight)
Notes:
Peziza vesiculosa is found at least in BC, WA, OR, ID, CA, and CO, (Larsen), AB (Schalkwijk-Barendsen), NY to WA, CA, AL, and probably throughout North America, (Seaver), Switzerland (Breitenbach), United Kingdom (Dennis), and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, (Hansen).
EDIBILITY
not recommended, one source says it is poisonous unless well-cooked, (Arora)
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Peziza fimeti "also grows in dung, but is smaller (up to 2cm) and dull brown, seldom grows in clusters, and has smaller spores", (Arora). P. fimeti grows on dung and has smooth spores in the same size range, but differs in small disc-shaped fruitbodies and other characters, (Hansen, K.). Phillips(1) says that Peziza bovina is found in the Pacific Northwest: according to Dennis(1), it has "similar ascospores, 19-22 x 9(10) microns borne by small (under 1cm diameter) umbilicate-revolute umber-brown apothecia on cow dung". See also SIMILAR section of Peziza badia.Habitat
single or gregarious, "usually fused together in clusters to form large clumps", on "dungheaps, manured ground, commonly on horse manure, in commercial mushroom beds", throughout the year, (Breitenbach), on manure heaps and richly manured soil, mushroom beds, etc., August to April, (Dennis), restricted to +/- manured straw or hay, richly manured soil and mulched beds, but apparently not or rarely directly on dung, (Hansen, K.), single "or more often gregarious (sometimes in large clusters) on manure, dung, rotting straw, in corrals, around stables, gardens, and other fertilized areas, etc.", (Arora), "on manure heaps and rich manured soil", "June to October; November to February on West Coast", (Lincoff(2)), on droppings of large herbivores or on the ground, all year especially late winter and spring, (Lincoff(1)), "on manure heaps, old straw, or composted soil", (Trudell)
Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Corticium pallidum Bres.
Hyphoderma pallidum (Bres.) Donk