Aleuria aurantia ( orange peel fungus) is a widespread ascomycete fungus in the order Pezizales. The bright orange, cup-shaped often resemble orange peels strewn on the ground,
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 wide, cup-shaped, externally fuzzy,
and often misshapen due to crowding from other fruiting bodies.
The flesh is fragile.
The
Ascospore produce a white
spore print,
and scatter in visible clouds when disturbed.
A variety with smaller spores appears in the Pacific Northwest.
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.
Similar species
Similar species include
Acervus epispartius,
,
Sarcoscypha coccinea,
Sowerbyella rhenana, and members of the genera
Melastiza,
Otidea,
Peziza,
Pithya, and
Pulvinula.
Particularly In Europe,
A. aurantia may be confused with species of
Otidea or
Caloscypha which are poisonous or of unknown
Edible mushroom.
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.
It can also be found in south Chile and in Europe.
It fruits mainly on bare clay or disturbed soil.
Uses
It is generally regarded as edible,
though difficult to collect intact
and not necessarily choice. It can be served in thin slices and preserved by drying.
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.
