Minnesota Seasons - Orange Peel Fungus

Photo by Kirk Nelson

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

not listed

Minnesota

not listed


	Description
	Orange Peel Fungus is a conspicuous, widespread, and very common cup fungus. It is found in summer and fall, usually on bare, often clayey soil, on roadsides, trails, and other disturbed areas. It is sometimes found on moss or grass. It may be scattered but usually grows in clusters of caps that sometimes fuse together. There is no stalk. The cap is round and cup-shaped when it first emerges, becoming saucer-shaped and flat or wavy when mature. When clustered, the caps are often irregularly shaped, contorted. Mature caps may be ¾″ to 4″ in diameter. The upper side is bright orange and hairless, fading to yellowish-orange with age. The underside is paler and densely covered with minute, white, downy hairs when young, becoming hairless as it ages. The margin is often wavy or lobed. There is no fringe of dark hairs on the margin. The flesh is thin and brittle. It is edible but bland, fragile, and insubstantial.

	Similar Species
	Stalked Orange Peel Fungus (Sowerbyella rhenana) is smaller, no more than ¾″ in diameter, and is distinctly stalked. It is much less common in Minnesota.


	Habitat and Hosts
	Bare ground


	Biology
	Season
	Summer and fall


	Visitor Photos

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	Honey Fae (Farah)




	Jennifer Johnson




	Kirk Nelson






	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

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	Visitor Videos

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	Other Videos


	Spring Orange Peel fungus spore liberation embersmushrooms

	About Published on Jul 12, 2011 Cup fungi sporulate when blown on. These Caloscypha were found in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in May.



	Orange peel fungus - spore release saltpeterfilms

	About Published on Dec 14, 2009 Spores being ejected from the orange peel fungus following mechanical stimulation.

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Visitor Sightings

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Honey Fae (Farah) 5/26/2021	Location: Hennepin County



Jennifer Johnson 4/18/2020	Location: Miesville Ravine Park Reserve



Nancy 4/22 and 4/25 2018	Location: Oxbow park, near Byron MN (Olmsted county) Saw in several different locations along hiking trail, always growing on small stick laying on forest floor.



Kirk Nelson 9/4/2017	Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park



MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

Seminary Fen SNA

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Orange Peel Fungus