Hairy black cup

Description:

Pseudoplectania nigrella, commonly known as the ebony cup, the black false plectania, or the hairy black cup, is a species of fungi in the family Sarcosomataceae. The fruit bodies of this saprobic fungus are small blackish cups, typically up to 2 cm (0.8 in) broad, that grow in groups on soil, often amongst pine needles and short grass near coniferous trees. Pseudoplectania nigrella has a worldwide distribution, and has been found in North America, the Caribbean, Britain, Europe, India, Madagascar, New Zealand, and Japan. The fungus produces a unique chemical compound, plectasin, that has attracted research interest for its ability to inhibit the growth of the common human pathogenic bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae.The fruit bodies (technically called apothecia) typically grow in groups, or sometimes crowded closely together, with small stems or missing them entirely. Initially, the fruit bodies are closed and roughly spherical, but as they develop they expand to become cup-shaped, or almost flat. The inner surface of the cups bear the reproductive spore-bearing layer, or hymenium; it is brownish-black, with an edge that is often wavy and curved slightly inwards, and covered with fine hairs. The cups may reach up to 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter.[7] The hairs are long but usually closely coiled and twisted, which gives to the exterior of the cup a slightly tomentose appearance of nearly uniform thickness throughout their entire length. They are pale brown and 4–6 µm in diameter.[8] Ascus with spores The asci are roughly cylindrical with a long stem-like base; the entire ascus is often as long as 300–325 µm and about 15 µm in diameter at the thickest point. The spores are round, smooth, translucent (hyaline), and have diameters of about 12–14 µm.[8] They are filled with many small oil droplets.[9] The paraphyses (sterile filamentous hyphae in the hymenium) are enlarged at their tips and filled with brown colored matter, about 4 µm thick.[8]-Wikipedia

Habitat:

Growing on a moss covered nurse log in a wetland area.

Notes:

Pseudoplectania sphagnophila resembles P. nigrella, but has a more deeply and persistently cup-shaped fruit body, a short but distinct stem, and only grows amongst sphagnum moss.[10] Plectania melastoma has elliptical to spindle-shaped spores measuring 20–28 by 8–12 µm, while P. milleri has elliptical spores, and the margin of its cups have star-shaped points.[11]