About this fungus
Fluted Bird's Nest is a fungus in the Agaricaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A tiny, shaggy brown cup whose deeply ribbed inner wall surrounds several grey, flattened spore packets. Clusters on twigs and woodchip can look like miniature nests filled with eggs.
What to check
Use a hand lens to find strong vertical grooves inside the cup, a coarsely hairy outer surface and grey peridioles attached by fine cords. Young cups remain closed by a pale membrane. There is no stem, cap, ring or volva.
Variation
Young fruit bodies are pale and woolly with a closed top. After the membrane breaks, the interior is exposed and the outer wall darkens from tawny to deep brown. Rain can eject the peridioles, leaving old cups empty.
Lookalikes
Cyathus stercoreus has a smooth rather than fluted inner cup and usually darker peridioles. Cyathus olla also lacks the strong inner ribs and has a smoother grey-brown exterior. Empty or weathered cups can be harder to separate.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic in clusters on fallen twigs, small branches, cones, bark mulch and woodchip. It is widespread in temperate regions and occurs in woodland as well as gardens and landscaped ground.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
H. Krisp / CC BY 3.0