# Caloscypha

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***Caloscypha*** is a fungal [genus](/source/Genus) in the family [Caloscyphaceae](/source/Caloscyphaceae) (order [Pezizales](/source/Pezizales)). A [monotypic](/source/Monotypic) genus, it contains the single species ***Caloscypha fulgens***, commonly known as the **snowbank orange peel fungus**,[1] **spring orange peel fungus**, the **golden cup**, or the **dazzling cup**. It is a [cup fungus](/source/Cup_fungus), typically up to 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in diameter, with a bright to pale orange interior and orange; specimens that are old or bruised often have an olive-green discoloration, especially around the edges.

In North America, *C. fulgens* is usually found on the ground in [forest litter](/source/Forest_litter) near [conifers](/source/Conifer). Fruiting occurs in early spring following snow melt. The [asexual](/source/Asexual_reproduction) ([imperfect](/source/Imperfect_fungi)), or [conidial](/source/Conidial) stage of *C. fulgens* is the [plant pathogenic](/source/Plant_pathogen) species *Geniculodendron pyriforme*, known to infect dormant [seeds](/source/Seed) of the [Sitka spruce](/source/Sitka_spruce).

## Taxonomy

This species was first [described](/source/Species_description) by [Christian Hendrik Persoon](/source/Christian_Hendrik_Persoon) in 1822 as *Peziza fulgens*, and has been grouped in several different [genera](/source/Genera) since its original description. [Phylogenetic](/source/Phylogenetic) analysis of [DNA sequence](/source/DNA_sequence) data shows that within the order [Pezizales](/source/Pezizales), *Caloscypha fulgens* belongs in an evolutionary lineage with the families [Helvellaceae](/source/Helvellaceae), [Morchellaceae](/source/Morchellaceae), and [Tuberaceae](/source/Tuberaceae).[2] Since 1968, *Caloscypha* had been placed in the family [Pyronemataceae](/source/Pyronemataceae), a small grouping of fungi distinguished from other Pezizales by their relatively undeveloped [peridium](/source/Peridium).[3] In 2002, the new family [Caloscyphaceae](/source/Caloscyphaceae) was described to contain the [monotypic](/source/Monotypic) genus *Caloscypha*.[4]

### Etymology

The [specific epithet](/source/Specific_name_(botany)) means "bright colored", while the genus name *Caloscypha* means "beautiful cup".[5] The distinctive orange-yellow color of the fungus has earned it the [common names](/source/Common_name) "spring orange peel fungus",[6] the "golden cup",[7] and the "dazzling cup".[8]

## Description

The [fruiting body](/source/Fruiting_body) of *C. fulgens* is roughly cup-shaped, although the cup may be somewhat flattened, lopsided or split; the size is up to 6 centimetres (2.4 inches) in diameter.[9] The inner surface of the cup is orange-yellow, while the external surface is pale yellow. Either the margin around the rim or the entire outer surface may be stained olive-green.[6] The green or bluish staining that occurs upon injury or with age is unique within the order [Pezizales](/source/Pezizales).[10] The [stem](/source/Stipe_(mycology)), if present, is rather short. The [spore deposit](/source/Spore_print) is white.[11]

A single specimen of an albino form, 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter, was discovered in Northern [Idaho](/source/Idaho); it was found to be lacking the [pigment](/source/Pigment) responsible for staining the outer surface olive-green.[12]

The [spores](/source/Spore) are translucent ([hyaline](/source/Hyaline)), roughly spherical, thin-walled and smooth, with dimensions of 6–8 [μm](/source/%CE%9Cm) in diameter.[13] The [asci](/source/Ascus), the spore-bearing cells, are cylindrical and 80–100 by 7–8 μm; the [paraphyses](/source/Paraphyses) are thin and filamentous and contain orange granules.[6] This fungus is considered nonpoisonous[14] but inedible.[11][13][15]

### Similar species

*C. fulgens* bears some resemblance to the orange-peel fungus (*[Aleuria aurantia](/source/Aleuria_aurantia)*); however, *A. aurantia* does not have the characteristic bluing reaction upon bruising or with age, and it fruits later in the season (usually in autumn).[11]

It also bears similarities to *[Otidea](/source/Otidea)* species (e.g. *[O. onotica](/source/Otidea_onotica)*) which do not stain blue.[16]

## Distribution and habitat

This species is usually found in the spring, often on [duff](/source/Forest_floor) under conifers shortly after the snow melts. In North America, where it has been noted to occur only between March and July,[17] it is widespread in the [Rocky Mountains](/source/Rocky_Mountains) and the [Pacific Northwest](/source/Pacific_Northwest).[6] *C. fulgens* has been collected in Britain, and possibly arrived there from imported infected seeds.[17] It has also been collected from Japan,[18] Sweden,[19] The Netherlands,[20] and [Turkey](/source/Turkey).[21]

## Imperfect state

The [life cycle](/source/Biological_life_cycle) of this fungus allows for both an [imperfect](/source/Imperfect_fungi) (making asexual spores, or [conidia](/source/Conidia)) or perfect (making sexual spores) form; as has often happened in fungal [taxonomy](/source/Taxonomy_(biology)), the imperfect form was given a different name, because the relationship between the perfect and imperfect forms of the same species was not then known. The imperfect, or conidial stage of this fungus is the [plant pathogen](/source/Plant_pathogen) *Geniculodendron pyrofirme*, first reported in 1964,[22] and known to infect dormant seeds of the [Sitka spruce](/source/Sitka_spruce), *Picea sitchensis*.[17]

A 1978 study showed that about a third of Sitka spruce seed lots stored by the [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia) Forest Service ([Canada](/source/Canada)) contained diseased seeds, and these diseased seeds failed to germinate when sown in local nurseries.[23] The fungus can grow at low temperatures, contributing to its ability to kill seeds before they have a chance to germinate.[24][25][26] Infected seeds tend to shrivel and dry up rather than rot.[27]

Seed lots from squirrel seed caches have increased incidence of *C. fulgens* infection. Squirrels tend to cache [pinecones](/source/Pinecones) repeatedly in the same location, and in cool, moist conditions favorable for fungus growth.[28] In 2002, *G. pyriforme* was found on imported conifer seeds in [Germany](/source/Germany), the first such report in [continental Europe](/source/Continental_Europe).[29]

## Conservation

*C. fulgens* is listed on the [Red List](/source/Regional_Red_List) of protected species in [Slovakia](/source/Slovakia).[30]

## References

1. Arora, David (1986 [1979]). [*Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi*](https://archive.org/details/arora-david-mushrooms-demystified-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-fleshy-fungi-ten-speed-press-1986/page/837/mode/2up). 2nd ed. Berkeley, California: [Ten Speed Press](/source/Ten_Speed_Press). pp. 837–38. ISBN 978-0-89815-170-1.

1. Landvik S, Egger KN, Schumacher T (1997). "Towards a subordinal classification of the Pezizales (Ascomycota): phylogenetic analyses of SSU rDNA sequences". *Nordic Journal of Botany*. **17** (4): 403–18. [doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.1997.tb00337.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.1997.tb00337.x)

1. Eckblaad F-E (1968). "The genera of the operculate discomycetes". *Nytt Botaniska Notiser*. **15**: 1–191.

1. Harmaja J. (2002). "Caloscyphaceae, a new family of the Pezizales". *Karstenia*. **42** (1): 27–28. [doi:10.29203/ka.2002.383](https://doi.org/10.29203/ka.2002.383)

1. Weber NS, Smith AH (1980). *The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide*. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 0-472-85610-3.

1. Tylutki EE (1979). *Mushrooms of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest*. Moscow, Idaho: University Press of Idaho. pp. 93–94. ISBN 0-89301-062-6.

1. ["English Names for fungi 2013"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194645/http://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/library/english-names/). British Mycological Society. 2013. Archived from [the original](http://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/library/english-names/) on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2014-07-02.

1. McKnight VB, McKnight KH (1987). [*A Field Guide to Mushrooms, North America*](https://books.google.com/books?id=kSdA3V7Z9WcC&pg=PA59). Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-395-91090-0.

1. Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). *Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America*. Berkeley: [University of California Press](/source/University_of_California_Press). p. 405. ISBN 978-0-520-95360-4. [OCLC 797915861](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/797915861)

1. Hansen K, Pfister DH (2006). "Systematics of the Pezizomycetes—the operculate discomycetes". *Mycologia*. **98** (6): 1029–40. [doi:10.3852/mycologia.98.6.1029](https://doi.org/10.3852/mycologia.98.6.1029). [PMID 17486978](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17486978). [S2CID 20890635](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:20890635)

1. Wood M, Stevens F. ["*Caloscypha fulgens*"](http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Caloscypha_fulgens.html). *California Fungi*. MykoWeb. Retrieved 2009-06-25.

1. Rogers JD, Bonman JM (1978). "A white variant of *Caloscypha fulgens* from Northern Idaho". *[Mycologia](/source/Mycologia)*. **70** (6): 1286–87. [doi:10.2307/3759335](https://doi.org/10.2307/3759335). [JSTOR 3759335](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3759335) (subscription required)

1. Orr DB, Orr RT (1979). *Mushrooms of Western North America*. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-520-03656-5.

1. Miller Jr., Orson K. & Miller, Hope H. (2006). *North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi*. Guilford, CN: [FalconGuides](/source/FalconGuides). p. 535. ISBN 978-0-7627-3109-1.

1. Phillips, Roger (2010). *Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America*. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 368. ISBN 978-1-55407-651-2.

1. [Audubon](/source/Audubon) (2023). *Mushrooms of North America*. [Knopf](/source/Knopf). p. 26. ISBN 978-0-593-31998-7.

1. Paden JW, Sutherland JR, Moods TA (1978). "*Caloscypha fulgens* (Ascomycetidae, Pezizales): the perfect state of the conifer seed pathogen *Geniculodendron pyriforme* (Deuteromycotina, Hyphomycetes)". *Canadian Journal of Botany*. **56** (19): 2375–79. [doi:10.1139/b78-289](https://doi.org/10.1139/b78-289)

1. Nagao H. (2002). "Fungal flora in Chiba Pref., central Japan (III) ascomycetes: Plectomycetes and Discomycetes" (in Japanese). *Journal of the Natural History Museum and Institute Chiba*. '***(5): 111–32.***

1. Nilsson KG (1998). "Fungi of Rinkaby and Glanshammar parishes, Narke, C Sweden". *Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift*. **92** (5): 249–70.

1. Schmidt N. (1997). "*Caloscypha fulgens*: second find for The Netherlands" (in Dutch). *Coolia*. **40** (3): 195–96.

1. Dogan HH, Ozturk C (2006). ["Macrofungi and their distribution in Karaman province, Turkey"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110819033537/http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/issues/bot-06-30-3/bot-30-3-5-0506-6.pdf). *Turkish Journal of Botany*. **30** (3): 193–207. Archived from [the original](http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/issues/bot-06-30-3/bot-30-3-5-0506-6.pdf) on 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2010-12-29.

1. ["Diseases & Insects in BC Forest Seedling Nurseries - Seed fungus"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110706181350/http://www.pfc.forestry.ca/diseases/nursery/pests/seedfung_e.html). Natural Resources Canada: Canadian Forest Service. Archived from [the original](http://www.pfc.forestry.ca/diseases/nursery/pests/seedfung_e.html) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-12-29.

1. Sutherland JR, Woods TA (1978). "The fungus *Geniculodendron pyriforme* in stored Sitka spruce seeds: effects of seed extraction and cone collection methods on disease incidence". *Phytopathology*. **68** (5): 747–50. [doi:10.1094/Phyto-68-747](https://doi.org/10.1094/Phyto-68-747)

1. Epners Z. (1964). "A new psychrophilic fungus causing germination failure of conifer seeds". *Canadian Journal of Botany*. **42** (12): 1589–1604. [doi:10.1139/b64-159](https://doi.org/10.1139/b64-159)

1. Salt GA (1974). "Etiology and morphology of *Geniculodendron pyriforme* gen. et sp. nov., a pathogen of conifer seeds". *Transactions of the British Mycological Society*. **63** (2): 339–51. [doi:10.1016/S0007-1536(74)80179-8](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0007-1536(74)80179-8)

1. Thomson AJ, Sutherland JR, Woods TA, Moncrieff SM (1983). "Evaluation of seed disease effects in container-sown Sitka Spruce". *Forest Science*. **29** (1): 59–65.

1. Sullivan TP, Sutherland JR, Woods TA, Sullivan DS (1983). "Dissemination of the conifer seed fungus *Caloscypha fulgens* by small mammals". *Canadian Journal of Forest Research*. **14** (1): 134–37. [doi:10.1139/x84-026](https://doi.org/10.1139/x84-026)

1. Sutherland JR (1979). "Pathogenic fungus *Caloscypha fulgens* in stored conifer seeds in British Columbia and relation of its incidence to ground and squirrel-cache collected cones". *Canadian Journal of Forest Research*. **9** (1): 129–32. [doi:10.1139/x79-024](https://doi.org/10.1139/x79-024)

1. Schroder T, Kehr R, Hutterman A (2002). "First report of the seed pathogen *Geniculodendron pyriforme*, the imperfect state of the ascomycete *Caloscypha fulgens*, on imported conifer seeds in Germany". *Forest Pathology*. **32** (4–5): 225–30. [doi:10.1046/j.1439-0329.2002.00288.x](https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0329.2002.00288.x)

1. Kautmanova I. (2008). "Redlist species of fungi held in the collections of the Slovak National Museum Natural History museum (bra). iv. Vulnerable species (vu)". *Zbornik Slovenskeho Narodneho Muzea Prirodne Vedy*. **54**: 3–28.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Caloscypha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloscypha) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloscypha?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.