Text by Maureen Flatley, Master Naturalist
Photos by Deb Ford
A small group of volunteers (Deb Ford, Mary O’Grady, Kari Hagenow and myself) were scouting the trails of Newport State Park in search of invasive species on a cold sunny March morning. Garlic mustard and forget-me-nots were already greening up along the trails, and our challenge was to record their location for future volunteer-powered removal. Under the dried maple leaves Deb spotted a bright red bit of “trash”. (Being good trail stewards, we were collecting trash along our hike.) Brushing the leaves away exposed an amazing sight to behold: a cluster of bright red Scarlet Cup (Sarcoscypha austriaca).
Scarlet Cup is one of the earliest spring mushrooms, the largest cup growing up to 3 inches across with a whitish rim. Cup fungus are lined with a fertile layer of sac-like mother cells containing the fungus spores. Each cup will produce millions of spores and when ready, the mother cells (asci) will shoot the spores into the air in a clout of “smoke”. This is called puffing. The spores are then carried by the wind to germinate at new sites.
