Summary:
Many if not most mycologists consider this to be the same species as Mollisia cinerea, in which case Mollisia cinerea is the correct name, Mollisia being conserved against Tapesia. Features include a minute, urn-shaped to saucer-shaped, blue-gray to ocher-gray fruitbody resting on a network of brown filaments on bark and rotting wood, and microscopic characters.
Tapesia fusca is found from NY to OR and NC, and is probably widely distributed, (Seaver). It is also found in Europe including Switzerland (Breitenbach). It has been reported from BC by O. Ceska (pers. comm.).
Upper surface:
0.05-0.2cm across, urceolate [small mouth in relation to body] when young, then cup-shaped to saucer-shaped, later expanded and undulating; spore-bearing upper surface blue-gray to ocher-gray, smooth; margin somewhat lighter in color than upper surface, (Breitenbach), reaching 0.1cm across, at first urn-shaped, expanding; spore-bearing inner surface pallid-cinereous to pale yellowish, (Seaver)
Underside:
blue-gray to ocher-gray, the same color as upper surface, (Breitenbach), at first black, becoming cinereous-brown or cinereous-yellow, (Seaver)
Stem:
absent stem, fruitbody rest on a black-brown felty hyphal network, (Breitenbach), seated on a widely densely spread out subiculum of brown filaments, (Seaver)
Microscopic:
spores 8-12 x 1.8-2.2 microns, cylindric-fusiform [cylindric - spindle-shaped], smooth, colorless, without drops or septa, biseriate; asci 8-spored, 45-50 x 5-7 microns, positive reaction to iodine; paraphyses filiform [thread-like], sometimes septate, with slight clavate widening toward tip; subiculum of hyphae 4-7 microns wide, dark brown, multiply septate, thick-walled, (Breitenbach), spores 12-14 x 2-3 microns, fusoid, usually simple but occasionally doubtfully 1-septate; asci 8-spored, reaching a length of 55-68 microns and a width of 6-8 microns, fusoid-clavate; paraphyses filiform, 2-4 microns wide, (Seaver)
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