Scarlet Cup

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Scarlet Cup is a medium sized, common, and widespread cup fungi. It occurs throughout Europe, in eastern North America, Mexico, and Central America. It is very common in Minnesota. It is found in early to late spring, solitary or in groups, in deciduous forests. It grows on the ground on buried or fallen hardwood twigs and branches. It is one of the first splashes of color to be seen in early spring in eastern forests.

A stalk is usually present. When present, it is up to 1½″ long, ⅛″ to ¼″ thick, minutely hairy, white and tapered, wider at the top than at the base. The length of the stalk depends on how deeply the wood on which it is growing is buried. However, it is usually described as “stubby” or “rudimentary”.

The cap is more or less cup-shaped and ¾″ to 2¾″ wide. The upper side is bright red and hairless. It sometimes fades to reddish-orange and becomes wrinkled, especially near the center, with age. The underside is pinkish to whitish, and downy, covered with minute, elaborately twisted and curved hairs. The character of the hairs can only be seen with a microscope. The margin is curved inward and often becomes tattered with age. There is no fringe of dark hairs on the margin.

The flesh is thin, rubbery, and whitish.

The spore print is white.

Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) is identical in appearance and can only be distinguished by observing microscopic features. In North America it is restricted to California and the Pacific Northwest.

Sarcoscypha dudleyi (no common name) is identical in appearance and can only be distinguished by observing microscopic features. It is much rarer.

Deciduous forests.

Early to late spring

Sources

4, 7, 24, 26, 29, 30.

MushroomExpert.com, David Arora’s Mushrooms Demystified, and Mushrooms of Northeast North America all state that Sarcoscypha coccinea is restricted to California and the Pacific Northwest, and Sarcoscypha austriaca and Sarcoscypha dudleyi are the species east of the Rocky Mountains.

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (Bell Museum of Natural History) and the United States National Fungus Collections (BPI) contain no records of Sarcoscypha austriaca but many records of Sarcoscypha coccinea in Minnesota. GBIF also has records for Sarcoscypha coccinea in eastern North America. All of these are either misidentified sightings of Sarcoscypha austriaca and Sarcoscypha dudleyi or more probably records unchanged from before the three species were separated.

iNaturalist has many records for Sarcoscypha coccinea in eastern North America. These are all undoubtably misidentified sightings of Sarcoscypha austriaca and Sarcoscypha dudleyi.

Sarcoscypha austriaca is a common species. Based on the number of available records, Sarcoscypha dudleyi is rare or at least rarely identified. Only a single record for the state on Minnesota exists, that from Nicollet County in 2018.

The map at left includes Sarcoscypha coccinea records from the Bell Herbarium, BPI, GBIF, and iNaturalist.

Common and widespread

Sarcoscypha coccinea is a species complex that includes Sarcoscypha austriaca, Sarcoscypha coccinea, and Sarcoscypha dudleyi. The three can be distinguished only by microscopic examination of the spores, by the character of the hairs on the underside, also only visible with a microscope, and by where they are found.

Found these two growing the morning after a spring storm.

Scarlet cup

dense woods.

Appeared to be coming from the woodland floor but most likely attached to rotting wood.

Scarlet Elf?

I stumbled across a patch of these today (12/23/20) deep in a ravine, tucked under some leaves and dead trees. They looked just like the other pictures in your gallery. I attached a picture of one that I brought home to identify. The red is much brighter than it appears on this attachment.

However, I found it strange that your website indicates they appear in the spring. I thought I read on another site that they can be found in the autumn, in New England, perhaps(?)

Found this today in our back wooded area in Denmark Township. Never seen this before, had to do a Google search. So pretty!

Found some growing out in the woodlands

I found two today in Brown County.

This time, this Scarlet Elf cap Was found in Minneopa State Park, Blue Earth County.

Location: Hennepin County

Found these two growing the morning after a spring storm.

Location: Taylors Falls, MN

Location: Bald Eagle Bluff SNA

Scarlet cup

Lisa Dahl
4/29/2021

Location: Greenfield, private woods in Hennepin Cty

dense woods. Appeared to be coming from the woodland floor but most likely attached to rotting wood.

Location: Near old cedar bridge, Bloomington,MN. On the path on north side of river about half mile west of Old Cedar bridge.

Location: Denmark Township, Washington County

Found this today in our back wooded area in Denmark Township. Never seen this before, had to do a Google search. So pretty!

Location: Wright County

Discovered in multitude in Stanley Eddie County Park in Wright County

Location: Skyline, MN, Blue Earth County

Location: Mankato, MN

Location: Haverhill Township, Olmsted County

Location: Good Thunder, MN

Location: Maplewood State Park, Ottertail County

We took the woodland trail that is an easy hike for my 6 year old. I bet we saw close to 60 or 70 along this short trail and that was just within eye sight of the trail. It was a fun adventure trying to see who could find the biggest. On one 6 foot branch alone there were probably 20 bright scarlet cups growing.

Location: Isanti, Minnesota

Found some growing out in the woodlands

Location: Brown County

I found two today in brown county.

Location: Minneopa State Park, Blue Earth County

This time, this Scarlet Elf cap Was found in Minneopa State Park, blue earth county.