Sarcoscypha coccinea

What You Should Know

Sarcoscypha coccinea is an edible fungus species in the Sarcoscyphaceae family. It grows in temperate regions all over the world where there is decaying wood, typically in damp, shaded areas on the forest floor. Its bright red color, small size, and jelly-like texture make it unappetizing to most people. The fungus grows on a thin stem covered in white hairs that are only visible when picked. It releases its spores from the top of the cap in a "puffing" sound when the asci explode, releasing a cloud of spores. Oneida Native Americans used this fungus for medicinal purposes.

The red color of the fruit bodies comes from different types of carotenoid pigments. These pigments are stored in granules within the paraphyses. A mycologist suggested that the pigments in fruit bodies exposed to the Sun may absorb some of the Sun's rays, which could help with the development of the spores.

A lectin is a type of protein that can bind to specific sugar molecules. A lectin has been found in S. coccinea fruit bodies that can selectively bind to certain carbohydrates like lactose. This protein is used in blood typing, research, and medical studies.

Other names Scarlet Elf Cup, Red Cup, Scarlet Cup, Moss Cups, Ruby Elfcup, Fairies’ Baths, German (Zinnoberroter Kelchbecherling), Netherlands (Rode kelkzwam), France (Pézize écarlate).

Sarcoscypha coccinea Mushroom Identification

1. Cup

   These cups are shaped irregularly and have a smooth, red inside surface and a lighter, fuzzy outside surface. Young cups have a curved edge, and they have a short stem that's usually buried in moss and leaves. The stem is the same color as the outer surface or slightly lighter. The mature cups can range from 0.59 to 1.97 inches (1.5 to 5 cm) in diameter and are typically 0.39 to 0.79 inches (1 to 2 cm) tall, not including the stem.

2. Outer (Infertile)

   The outside of the cups is lighter in color than the inside and has small hairs that can be straight or bent. These hairs create a fuzzy mat on the outside of the cups. Sometimes the outside of the cups has a pinkish hue, but it's usually a yellowish-brown color.

3. Spore Print

   White.

4. Habitat

   This fungus grows on decaying hardwood twigs, often buried under moss. Sometimes it can also grow on mossy branches of dead trees in damp, shaded river valleys. It's common in mainland Europe but rare in the Mediterranean and southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula. It's also found in some areas of North America.

5. Microscopic Features

   Spores 25-35 x 11-14 µ; ellipsoid; with many small (< 3 µ) oil droplets; not sheathed or irregularly sheathed. Asci 8-spored. Paraphyses filiform; with orangish red contents. Excipular surface with hairs that are only slightly curved, and are not twisted.

Sarcoscypha coccinea Look-Alikes

1. Sarcoscypha austriaca

   Has coiled hairs on the outer (infertile) surface of the cup and broader spores often with flat ends or double-humped ends where conidial buds (asexual spores) are forming.

2. Aleuria aurantia

   This fungus is bigger in size, has an orange color instead of red, and thrives in soil rather than wood.

3. Sarcoscypha occidentalis

   Has smaller cups, a more pronounced stalk, and a smooth exterior surface.

Sarcoscypha coccinea Uses

The Oneida people, and possibly other tribes of the Iroquois Six Nations, utilized Sarcoscypha coccinea as a medicinal fungus. To create a styptic, the fungus was dried, ground into powder, and applied to the navels of newborn children that were not healing properly after the umbilical cord had been severed. The pulverized fruit bodies were also placed under bandages made of soft-tanned deerskin. Meanwhile, in Scarborough, England, the fruit bodies were once sold as a table decoration, arranged with moss and leaves.

Sarcoscypha coccinea Cooking Notes

The edibility of Sarcoscypha coccinea varies depending on the author, with some considering it edible, inedible, or not recommended.

One of the great things about this fungi is that its amazing color and seafood flavor isn’t lost during cooking and can, therefore, add a really nice contrast of color to dishes. They work especially well floated on a consommés, and tossed in green leafy salads, as well as grain salads.

Recipe: Elf Cups Stuffed with Egg and Three Cornered Leek

Makes around 12 medium-sized Elf Cups.

Ingredients

1. 1 free range egg

2. 1 tbsp of double cream

3. 1 finely chopped three cornered leek plus flowers

4. 12 pennywort leaves

5. Pinch of ras-el-hanout

6. Pinch of Cornish Sea Salt

7. Knob of butter

8. Splash of olive oil

How to cook

1. Combine the egg, cream, leek, salt and ras-el-hanout and lightly whisk.

2. Scramble the egg mixture as normal in a little butter to desired texture.

3. Meanwhile fry the elf cups in a little oil and butter for no more than a minute, overcooked they will to lose their delicate flavour.

4. Place each elf cup on a pennywort leaf, fill with the scrambled egg, and garnish with wild leek flowers. Serve.

Sarcoscypha coccinea Taxonomy and Etymology

In 1755, Carl Linnaeus first described the species as Peziza cyathoides. The specific name Peziza coccinea was later used by botanist Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1774 in his work Flora Austriaca. Pier Andrea Saccardo renamed the cup fungus to its current scientific name, Sarcoscypha coccinea, in 1889.

The specific epithet coccinea means 'bright red' (as in the edible coloring cochineal).

Sarcoscypha coccinea Synonyms and Varietes

• Aleuria coccinea (Scop.) Moesz, 1918

• Calycina cyathoides (Withering) Kuntze (1898), Revisio generum plantarum, 3, p. 447

• Elvela coccinea Schaeff., 1774

• Geopyxis coccinea (Scopoli) Massee (1895), British fungus flora, 4, p. 377

• Helvella coccinea Scopoli (1772), Flora carniolica, Edn 2, 2, p. 479 ('Elvela ') (Basionyme) Sanctionnement : Fries (1822)

• Helvella craterella (Hedwig) Quélet (1886), Enchiridion fungorum in Europa media et praesertim in Gallia vigentium, p. 274

• Lachnea coccinea (Scopoli) Gillet (1880), Champignons de France, les discomycètes, p. 66

• Leptopodia craterella (Hedwig) Boudier (1907), Histoire et classification des discomycètes d'Europe, p. 37

• Macropodia craterella (Hedwig) Rehm (1894), Rabenhorst's kryptogamen-flora von Deutschland, Oesterreich und der Schweiz, Zweite Auflage, Pilze, 1(3), p. 986

• Macroscyphus coccineus (Scopoli) Gray (1821), A natural arrangement of British plants, 1, p. 672

• Molliardiomyces eucoccinea F.A. Harrington (1990), Mycotaxon, 38, p. 434

• Octospora coccinea (Jacquin) Timm (1788), Florae megapolitanae prodomus, p. 261

• Octospora craterella Hedwig (1789), Descripto et adumbratio microscopico analytica muscorum frondorosum, 2, p. 55, tab. 19, fig. c

• Octospora cyathoides (Linnaeus) Timm (1788), Florae megapolitanae prodomus, p. 260

• Peziza coccinea Jacquin (1774), Florae austriacae sive plantarum selectarum in Austriae archiducatu sponte crescentium, 2, p. 40, tab. 163

• Peziza craterella (Hedwig) J.F. Gmelin (1792), Systema naturae, Edn 13, 2, p. 1452

• Peziza cyathoides Linnaeus (1753), Species plantarum exhibentes plantas rite cognitas ad genera relatas, 2, p. 1181

• Peziza dichroa Holmsk., 1799

• Peziza epidendra Bulliard (1790), Herbier de la France, 10, tab. 467, fig. 3

• Peziza poculiformis Hoffmann (1790), Vegetabilia cryptogama, 2, p. 27, tab. 7, fig. 5

• Peziza pulcherrima Rafinesque-Schmaltz (1808), The medical repository, and rewiew of American publications on medecine and the auxillary branches of sciences, Hexade 2, 5, p. 362

• Plectania coccinea (Scopoli) Fuckel (1870) [1869-70], Jahrbücher des nassauischen vereins für naturkunde, 23-24, p. 324

Sarcoscypha coccinea Video

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