Specimen #8 Bird's Nest Fungi

Figure 1. Bird's nest fungi found in the mulch

Figure 2. Close up of the bird's nest 

Figure 3. Close up of the peridioles

Name: Cyathus helenae 

Common name: Bird's Nest fungi

Family: Nidulariaceae

Collection date: September 12, 2015

Habitat: Tree base in the mulch

Location: Newbury, Ohio

Description: mini cups with gray circles that appear like small stones

Collector: Katie Trushel

Key used: Kuo, Michael.(2014.) The Bird's Nest Fungi. http://www.mushroomexpert.com/birdsnests.html

Keying steps:  

1b) Fungus shaped roughly like a cup or goblet that is covered with a "lid" when young (though the lid often disappears quickly); "eggs" held in a nest-like receptacle at maturity.

6b) Outer surface and/or inner surface of nest shaggy, hairy, grooved, or velvety.

10a) Inside surface of nest vertically lined or grooved

11a) Found in temperate North America (from the Gulf Coast northward)

12b) Not completely as above

13a) Nest typically 5-6 mm wide; montane and boreal in distribution.

Links:

http://eol.org/pages/1008393/overview

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/fungus-lichen/birds-nest-fungus.htm

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/Gardening-Handbook/PDF-files/GH-070--birds-nest-fungus.pdf