Scarlet Elf Cups

The word ‘mushroom’ often conjures up an image of a white or brown cap-and-stem fungus, but mushrooms come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours. I am endlessly fascinated with brightly coloured fungi, and they don’t get much brighter than Scarlet Elfcup (Sarcoscypha sp.). 

Photo: Scarlet Elf Cups on PEI.

Scarlet Elfcups appear in spring – before much ground vegetation is awake – and their eye-catching colour makes them stand out. The first time I saw one from a distance, I thought it might be part of an old rubber ball that had rotted and broken apart. I was very pleased to instead find a new-to-me fungus!

You’ll note that I’ve only identified this Scarlet Elfcup as far as genus: Sarcoscypha. There are two, very similar species that may occur on PEI (S. austriaca and S. dudleyi), but we don’t have good information about their presence or distribution.

That’s because, historically, fungi in general – including our local species – have not been well-studied. There are early lists of PEI’s mammals, birds, and plants, but even esteemed Island naturalist Francis Bain dismissed this entire Kingdom in two, rather grim, sentences (1890): “Mushrooms grow in every damp situation. Most of them are poisonous.”  

This apparent disdain for mushrooms extended a good century beyond Bain. As a biology student in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, I didn’t learn much about fungi and there was an implication that they were too difficult to bother with. Fortunately, times have changed. Nature PEI’s Mushrooms of PEI project is engaging local experts and citizen scientists in expanding our knowledge, adding hundreds of species to our provincial list. The similar-looking Elfcups can be differentiated under a microscope and with DNA analysis, and I’ve sent these along for further study.

As their name implies, Scarlet Elfcups are cup-shaped with a bright red (scarlet) upper surface and lighter undersurface. They usually range from less than an inch across to a couple of inches wide (about two to seven centimetres) and can be found under deciduous or mixedwood forests where they grow on decaying hardwood branches and sticks. (They may look like they’re growing right from the ground, but if you dig down a bit, you’ll find the wood).

These fungi are saprobes, breaking down and recycling dead organic matter. Most of us don’t give much thought to the importance of this, but saprobes are critical to nutrient cycling. This not only allows other plants and animals (including us) to live, but it also keeps us from being buried under piles of undecomposed dead things!  As early spring decomposers, Scarlet Elfcups also play a role in making nutrients available to our early rising plants, including rare spring ephemerals such as Trout Lily, Dutchman’s Breeches, and Spring Beauty.

Scarlet Elfcups are edible, although I haven’t yet found a patch big enough to bother foraging. These mushrooms are said to keep their colour when cooked, which would make them a nice garnish for pasta, pizza, or salads. Do remember that mushrooms are high in chitin which can be hard to digest. Cooking helps break down the chitin, and it’s recommended that wild mushrooms always be cooked before eating.

I’m on the lookout for Scarlet Elfcups and other spring fungi these days, doing my best to reverse the history of biologists ignoring the fungal side of PEI Untamed!