10 March 2022 Tilford, Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. Common Name Scarlet Elf Cup Fruiting Body Cup shaped, inner surface smooth, scarlet, outer surface whitish to pinkish, attached to the substrate by a thick stem, to about 5cm across Flesh White, with a thin red layer inside the cup, firm, tough Smell Indistinct Taste Indistinct Season Winter to early spring Distribution Frequent Habitat On dead wood from deciduous trees, usually on wood in contact with soil in damp woods Spore Print White Microscopic Features Spores ellipsoidal, often with flattened or indented ends, with multiple oil drops (26-40) x (12-15) µm2. Excipular hairs (those on the outside surface of the cup) curly. Edibility Edible Notes Austriaca means 'originating from Austria'. Microscopy is required to separate this fungus from Sarcoscypha coccinea and Sarcoscypha jurana (which has not been recorded in Britian). S. austriaca is believed to be the most common species. For a key see Field Mycology 3 (1) page 13. S. coccinea has spores with rounded ends, and excipular hairs that are +/- straight. Excipular hairs can be scraped off the cap for examination under a microsope. 
10 March 2022 Tilford, Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
10 March 2022 Tilford, Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
Spores in Congo Red solution viewed with a x100 immersion objective. 10 March 2022 Tilford, Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
Excipular hairs in Congo Red solution viewed with a x40 objective. 10 March 2022 Tilford, Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
9 February 2008 Berkshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
21 February 2009 Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
9 February 2008 Berkshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
9 February 2008 Berkshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
January 2001 Hampshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
Spores viewed with a x100 immersion microscope objective and x2.5 projection eyepiece. 18 January 2014 Hampshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
Excipular hairs viewed with a x40 microscope objective. 21 February 2009 Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. |