EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Beware the Veined Cup

Veined Cup (Disciotis venosa), Family Morchellaceae
Washington, USA

Explanation:  What is this morass of folded flesh growing from the forest floor?

It is a most interesting fungus ... called veined cup.  It is one of several brown-colored cup fungi found in forests of North America ...

... but collector beware!  This species, and others so similar that the naked eye cannot tell them apart, is likely poisonous raw.  Some claim that it is edible, however, if cooked ... but it is best not to tempt fate, should your appetite itself be tempted...

Veined cups are related to morel mushrooms (which are edible, and delightfully so, but again with great caution), which look so very different.

Veined cups are saprobes -- likely living off of decaying organic material of plants -- and thus may help to recycle nutrients in forest ecosystems.  More than that, they may also be partially mychorrhizal, which means that they have a beneficial, symbiotic relationship with roots of trees and help the trees to absorb nutrients and water.  

So again, veined cups may help forest ecosystems by sustaining the health and vitality of desirable tree species.  

Next time you flinch at the sight of an ugly, wrinkled mass of flesh-colored fungus sprouting from the ground ... think about how important are its ecological functions to keeping our forests whole and healthy!