I wrote a post about this fungus previously but thought I would revisit the subject.
The last time I saw Blistered Cup was on a visit to Exmouth. I spotted a small group, mostly immature growing in a horse-manured rose bed.
More recently (November) I was out walking in my local area (Nottinghamshire) and spied a huge pile of steaming horse dung near to the hedgerow which meant I could easily take a look. Always on the look out for fungi which habitat dung, I had to investigate. Not the most pleasant of tasks, tramping around steaming dung, horse dung is preferable to cow!, but when something is found, of course it is well worth the effort.
This pile of dung held a nice surprise - it was full of Blistered Cup including some huge specimens at maturity. It was also nice to see this fungus growing in its natural habitat, rather than having been moved to a rose-bed as mentioned above.
Although this fungus is common this is only my second sighting.
Characteristics: Bowl-shaped up to 8 cm across. Light tan to buff. On close inspection creased grooves can be seen on the exterior cap. Minute granules can also be seen. The margin is in-rolled when immature. When dry it can become brittle. This fungus can withstand frosts. In large groups in horse dung and well-manured soil. All year but more so in Spring and Autumn. Common.
Below some photographs.
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| Showing perspective in horse dung |
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| Showing Close-up |
