Aleuria aurantia
Jahrb. Nass. Vereins f. Naturkunde 23-24: 325. 1870.
Common Name: Orange Cup
Fruiting body 3-7 cm broad, forming irregular cups, split or infolded on one side; context thin, brittle; hymenial surface orange, external surface lighter in color, pruinose.
Spores 16-21 x 10-11 µm, hyaline, elliptical with two oil drops, roughened in a reticulate pattern at maturity.
On bare soil, typically along trails, banks, and dirt roads. Fruits from late fall to early spring.
Edible, but of no consequence.
Aleuria aurantia is easily recognized by the sizable orange cups it forms on disturbed ground, e.g. along the edge of paths and dirt roads. Unlike many Ascomycetes, which fruit during the spring, Aleuria aurantia can be found from November through January, the peak of the California mushroom season.
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