Species details
Vinegar cup
Helvella acetabulum
Conditional / expert preparation
Photo: Bjorn Sothmann · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo source · License
.jpg){kind=link}
Description
A spring grey-brown cup-shaped saddle fungus with a whitish stem and strong ribs extending up the outside of the cup.
Identification features
Fruitbody about 4–8 cm wide, initially dome-shaped and later cup-shaped, grey-brown to smoky. The short whitish stem is strongly ribbed; vein-like ribs branch upward over the outside of the cup.
Identification checklist
Check the cup shape and especially the short whitish stem with strong ribs that fork upward over the outside of the cup.
How to separate similar species
Discina ancilis is more sessile and grows from wood. Related cup-shaped saddle fungi can look very similar; unclear specimens require caution.
Habitat
Grows in spring in deciduous and mixed woodland beneath trees and shrubs, especially oak, hornbeam and hazel.
Fruiting period
March, April, May
Similar species
- Pig's ear cup (Discina ancilis)
- Helvella costifera
- Long-stalked saddle (Helvella macropus)