Scutellinia scutella

 This one goes out to my girls Caroline, Shante, and Sara!! Scoot over for Scutellinia scutella! (Rhymes with Nutella)

                                                                                     

 This is my first post about a fungus from the phylum Ascomycota- from the Greek prefix "askos" meaning "sac" or "wineskin". The genus and species name comes from the Latin word scutellata meaning "like a small shield" which is incredibly adorable. Learning about the Ascomycetes is always a fantastic lesson in the stunning diversity of fungi. They have many more shapes and forms than just the gilled little umbrellas that pop out of the ground, or even the shelf mushrooms that grow out of the sides of trees. The Ascomycota all have a pore-producing surface ("hymenium") that tends to be smooth and shaped into a cup or sac like the name suggests. The cup shape is evolutionarily helpful for dispersal because the ascocarps (which form and hold the spores) have open access to disperse the spores into the air and water droplets can splash spores out of the cup.

                                         

These fungi are known as "Eyelash Cups" because if you look closely, you will see tiny hairs around the edge of the cup that resemble eyelashes (I tried to get a side angle to show this, but it might not be clear). You can typically find them on damp, rotting wood so keep an eyelash out for these cute little fungi ;D