Stalked bonfire cup (Geopyxis carbonaria)

Synonyms: Aleuria carbonaria, Peziza carbonaria, Peziza cupularis, Pustularia carbonaria.

Extract from Wikipedia article: Geopyxis carbonaria is a species of fungus in the genus Geopyxis, family Pyronemataceae. First described to science in 1805, and given its current name in 1889, the species is commonly known as the charcoal loving elf-cup, dwarf acorn cup, stalked bonfire cup, or pixie cup. The small, goblet-shaped fruitbodies of the fungus are reddish-brown with a whitish fringe and measure up to 2 cm (0.8 in) across. They have a short, tapered stalk. Fruitbodies are commonly found on soil where brush has recently been burned, sometimes in great numbers. The fungus is distributed throughout many temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is found in Europe, Turkey, and North America. Although it is primarily a saprotrophic species, feeding on the decomposing organic matter remaining after a fire, it also forms biotrophic associations with the roots of Norway spruce.

AI-generated description

Geopyxis carbonaria is a species of fungus that grows on burnt soil and charred wood. In St. Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast, and north-western Russia, it has been found to fruit in areas with rich organic matter, typically after forest fires or in areas with high levels of charcoal deposition. The fungus produces small, cup-shaped ascocarps that are 0.5-2 cm in diameter, with a brown to black exterior and a white to cream-colored interior. It is considered a pyrophilous species, requiring the presence of burnt substrates to grow.

Photos of this mushroom from the area of St. Petersburg, Russia

Charcoal loving elf-cup fungus (<B>Geopyxis carbonaria</B>) on a bonfire site along a road around Kavgolovskoe Lake near Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, <A HREF="../date-en/2017-07-25.htm">July 25, 2017</A>

Charcoal loving elf-cup fungus (Geopyxis carbonaria) on a bonfire site along a road around Kavgolovskoe Lake near Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, July 25, 2017

Unnamed Road, Leningradskaya oblast', Russia, 188664

Stalked bonfire cup fungus (<B>Geopyxis carbonaria</B>) on a bonfire site along a road around Kavgolovskoe Lake near Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, <A HREF="../date-en/2017-07-25.htm">July 25, 2017</A>

Stalked bonfire cup fungus (Geopyxis carbonaria) on a bonfire site along a road around Kavgolovskoe Lake near Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, July 25, 2017

Unnamed Road, Leningradskaya oblast', Russia, 188664

Charcoal loving elf-cup fungus (<B>Geopyxis carbonaria</B>) in moss on a bonfire site along a road around Kavgolovskoe Lake near Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, <A HREF="../date-en/2017-07-25.htm">July 25, 2017</A>

Charcoal loving elf-cup fungus (Geopyxis carbonaria) in moss on a bonfire site along a road around Kavgolovskoe Lake near Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, July 25, 2017

Unnamed Road, Leningradskaya oblast', Russia, 188664

Stalked bonfire cup fungus (<B>Geopyxis carbonaria</B>) in area of Kavgolovskoe Lake near Oselki - Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, <A HREF="../date-en/2017-08-09.htm">August 9, 2017</A>

Stalked bonfire cup fungus (Geopyxis carbonaria) in area of Kavgolovskoe Lake near Oselki - Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, August 9, 2017

Unnamed Road, Leningradskaya oblast', Russia, 188664

Stalked bonfire cup mushrooms (<B>Geopyxis carbonaria</B>) near Shchuchye Lake in Komarovo, west from Saint Petersburg. Russia, <A HREF="../date-en/2017-09-06.htm">September 6, 2017</A>

Stalked bonfire cup mushrooms (Geopyxis carbonaria) near Shchuchye Lake in Komarovo, west from Saint Petersburg. Russia, September 6, 2017

Ozornaya Ulitsa, 45, Russia, 197733

Stalked bonfire cup fungus (<B>Geopyxis carbonaria</B>) on a bonfire site west from Kavgolovo Lake near Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, <A HREF="../date-en/2019-05-19.htm">May 19, 2019</A>

Stalked bonfire cup fungus (Geopyxis carbonaria) on a bonfire site west from Kavgolovo Lake near Toksovo, north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, May 19, 2019

Leningrad Oblast, Russia, 188667

Stalked bonfire cup mushrooms (<B>Geopyxis carbonaria</B>) in a burned spruce forest in Zakhodskoe (Lounatjoki), 50 miles north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, <A HREF="../date-en/2021-05-15.htm">May 15, 2021</A>

Stalked bonfire cup mushrooms (Geopyxis carbonaria) in a burned spruce forest in Zakhodskoe (Lounatjoki), 50 miles north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, May 15, 2021