Peziza badia - Bay Cup found in a skip

Peziza badia - Bay Cup

It never ceases to amaze me where fungus can end up growing!

Who'd have thought in a skip! The story behind this is as follows:

A lady was having her garden landscaped.  Old wood and debris was placed in the skip along with clumps of soil removed for the creation of a new path.  The lady concerned left a card through my letterbox telling me she'd seen a fungus in her hired skip.  Intrigued I had to investigate so off I travelled to take a look.  To my surprise the fungus in question turned out to be a Bay Cup. Perfect in every way - the colouring and the scurfy exterior.

Below are photographs showing this excellent example.

Showing a perspective angle in the clump of soil

Showing the scurfy exterior

Characteristics: 3-8 cm across, cup-shaped firstly then developing a wavy margin edge that is irregular in shape.   Inner surface shiny, brown with olive tinge with the outer edge being scurfy.  To be found in soil, in clay soil on banks or path edges.  Later Summer to Autumn.  Frequent.

I visited the lady who found this fungus and indeed the soil was removed from a clay path and then placed in the skip!  Sometime after this soil removal the Peziza badia appeared.