Aleuria aurantia

Orange peel fungus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Pezizomycetes
Order:	Pezizales
Family:	Pyronemataceae
Genus:	Aleuria
Species:	A. aurantia
Binomial name
Aleuria aurantia (Pers.) Fuckel, 1870
Synonyms
Peziza aurantia Pers. 1800 Scodellina aurantia (Pers.) Gray

Aleuria aurantia Mycological characteristics
	Smooth hymenium
	No distinct cap
	Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
	Lacks a stipe
	Spore print is white
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is edible

Aleuria aurantia (orange peel fungus) is a widespread ascomycete fungus in the order Pezizales. The bright orange, cup-shaped ascocarps often resemble orange peels strewn on the ground, ^[1] giving this species its common name.

Taxonomy

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon described the orange peel as Peziza aurantia in 1800. The specific epithet is the Latin word aurantia "orange". Karl Wilhelm Gottlieb Leopold Fuckel placed it the genus Aleuria in 1870.

Description

The orange fruiting body is 1–10 centimetres (1⁄2–4 inches) wide, cup-shaped, externally fuzzy, ^[2] and often misshapen due to crowding from other fruiting bodies. ^[3] The flesh is fragile. ^[4] The spores produce a white spore print, ^{[3] [2]} and scatter in visible clouds when disturbed. ^[1]

A variety with smaller spores appears in the Pacific Northwest. ^[4]

It is fairly uniquely, resembling a discarded orange peel more than other fungi. Aleuria rhenana , Melastiza chateri , and species of Otidea may be vaguely similar. ^[4]

• 
  Growing in Hamburg, Germany

Similar species

Similar species include Acervus epispartius , ^[2] Caloscypha fulgens , Sarcoscypha coccinea , Sowerbyella rhenana , and members of the genera Melastiza , Otidea , Peziza , Pithya , and Pulvinula . ^{[2] [3]} Particularly In Europe, A. aurantia may be confused with species of Otidea or Caloscypha which are poisonous or of unknown edibility.

Distribution and habitat

The orange peel fungus grows throughout North America, from November to March in the West and May to November in the East. ^[2] It can also be found in south Chile^{[ citation needed ]} and in Europe. ^[5] It fruits mainly on bare clay or disturbed soil. ^[4]

Uses

It is generally regarded as edible, ^[6] though difficult to collect intact ^[1] and not necessarily choice. It can be served in thin slices and preserved by drying. ^[5]

References

1. Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. pp. 285–286. ISBN   978-0-88192-935-5.
2. Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 41. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
3. Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 406–407. ISBN   978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC   797915861.
4. Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. p. 837. ISBN   978-0-89815-170-1.
5. Francis-Baker, Tiffany (2021). Concise Foraging Guide. The Wildlife Trusts. London: Bloomsbury. p. 103. ISBN   978-1-4729-8474-6.
6. Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 368. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.

Further reading

• Nilsson, S. & Persson, O. 1977. Fungi of Northern Europe 1: Larger Fungi (Excluding Gill Fungi). Penguin Books.
• Yao, Y.-J., and B. M. Spooner. 1995. Notes on British taxa referred to Aleuria. Mycological Research 99:1515-1518.
• Seaver, F. J. 1914. North American species of Aleuria and Aleurina. Mycologia 6:273-278.