Thursday, 21 December 2017

The turquoise elfcup

I came across this fungus in the woods last week when we were clearing another patch of woodland in the reserve for replanting.

I think it is Chlorociboria aeruginascens, the turquoise elfcup but it could be the very closely related Chlorociboria aeruginosa, the green elfcup(!).  It is a saprophytic fungus and these fruiting bodies are a few mm across.



The mycelium stains the wood blue as seen in these photos.


The blue-stained wood was used in marquetry in the 15th century in Italy and in the similar Tunbridge ware in England in the 18th and 19th centuries.

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