Summary:
Features include a sulphur-yellow to gold yellow cup or disc with a black toothed margin, a dark brown scurfy exterior, absent stem, and growth that is gregarious or tightly clustered on the ground.

Microscopic:
spores 12-13 x 5.5-6 microns, elliptic, smooth, colorless, with 2 drops; asci 8-spored, irregularly uniseriate, 115-148 x 8.5-11 microns, amyloid; paraphyses "filiform, sparsely septate, tips forked and bent", (Breitenbach), spores 10-17 x 5-6 microns, elliptic, the ends slightly narrowed, usually with 2 oil droplets; asci reaching 90-125 x 7-9 microns, clavate; paraphyses very slender, branched, (Seaver), spores 13-15 x 5-6, elliptic-fusiform, with two large oil droplets; asci 150 x 10 microns, cylindroclavate with long stalks, rather broad pore deep blue with iodine; paraphyses slender, about 2.5 microns wide at tips, (Dennis)

Notes:
Podophacidium xanthomelum is found from WA to NY, ON, PQ, and Europe. A collection by R. Outerbridge from BC is deposited at the Pacific Forestry Centre.

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Aleuria xanthomela Gillet
Corticium vellereum Ellis & Cragin
Humaria xanthomela Sacc.
Hypochnicium vellereum (Ellis & Cragin) Parmasto
Melachroia terrestris Boud.
Melachroia xanthomela Boud.
Peziza xanthomela Pers.
Peziza zanthomela Pers.
Podophacidium terrestre Niessl in Rab.
Urnula terrestris Sacc.