Cellar Cup Mystery

[Ditiola]

In my cellar, the cellar cup (Peziza cerea) always fruits in September. can enyone sugest how it knows it's autumn?

It is always dark (unless I briefly turn the light on)
The temperature is pretty constant
The humidity is pretty constant
The cellar floor can flood any time of year including the summer






Peter

[Beamish]

Hi Peter,

an enchanting place to search fungi, isn't it?

How do you know this is P. cerea?

Greetings, Martin

[Ditiola]

Hi Martin
from you question I suspect you think it may be another species. I will go down the cellar, get a sample and check with my microscope and let you know

Peter

[Ditiola]

I had previously checked out another specimen from my cellar about 5 years ago but have now re checked and todays specimen has:

Ascus tips blued in Melzers
Paraphyses simple without inflated cells
Spores elipsoid smooth 14.5 x 8.7 (I only measured one but that was enough)
Middle layer of interwoven cells thin

Brian Spooners key Field Mycology Vol 2 (2) p52 Keys the specimen out to P.cerea, apparently they can have a stem.

The colour in the previous photo has come out a bit to yellow due to the florescent light in the cellar and the long exposure to take the shot.






Peter


Peter

[Beamish]

Hi Peter,

I must confess I went out on a limb (do say so?) while challenging P. cerea

Your micro shows an operculate asco for sure. But colour and stipe makes me wonder.

All the specimen of cerea I have seen in books and in the web look different to yours. But maybe this is due to this special habitat close to a Workmate WM700

Cheers,

Martin

[solus]

Originally Posted by Beamish

But maybe this is due to this special habitat close to a Workmate WM700

Does its presence make you nervous then? (The Workmate, not the fungus!) Brings to mind all those jobs you've been promising Mrs Beamish you'll get round to doing one day!

[Beamish]

caught...

[Beamish]

Originally Posted by Ditiola

Brian Spooners key Field Mycology Vol 2 (2) p52 Keys the specimen out to P.cerea, apparently they can have a stem.

The colour in the previous photo has come out a bit to yellow due to the florescent light in the cellar and the long exposure to take the shot.

Hi Peter,

it was the colour that made me wonder. All the specimen I saw in my sources were brownish. But now I found bright yellow ones on Boudier's plates (old name Aleuria cerea). They have a small stem there, too.

Regards, Martin