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urnseen (Urnula craterium) kantud Punasesse raamatusse Tähelepanu vajavate liikide alla
( Ascomycetes > Pezizales > Sarcosomataceae > Urnula . . . )
by Michael Kuo
The Devil's Urn is frequently encountered by morel hunters in the spring, east of the Rocky Mountains. It can be found growing singly or in small clusters, on sticks and small logs--though the wood is often buried so they appear terrestrial. Urnula craterium typically begins to fruit before the black morels, and continues coming up well into morel season. In fact, many morel hunters judge the season's progress on the basis of this odd little mushroom's presence or absence.
The edibility of Urnula craterium is usually not reported by field guides, but I know of a few desperate and unsuccessful morel hunters who have tried it--including myself; I tried a few bites last year. While it wasn't awful, I can't say it was very good, either. My mushroom buddies and I planned on stuffing it with crab meat, bread crumbs and cheese some day, to see if "stuffed urnula" was worth the trouble--but someone pointed out to me recently that anything stuffed with crab meat, bread crumbs and cheese is good, so maybe we will need to design a new taste test . . . or maybe not.
Description:
Ecology: Saprobic on sticks and small logs (often buried) of hardwoods; growing alone, scattered, or in dense clusters; spring; widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains.
Fruiting Body: 2-15 cm; shaped like a deep cup or an urn; the opening narrow at first but soon expanding; in age often breaking apart and appearing almost like pieces of a cup fungus; the margin becoming torn and folded back; dark brown on the outside (becoming darker with age), with blackish areas; usually black on the inner surface; the outer surface rough and gritty when young, becoming smooth.
Stem: 2.5 cm; colored like the fruiting body and continuous with it; tough; blackish towards the base.
Flesh: Tough and leathery; blackish.
Microscopic Features: Spores 24-36 x 10-15µ; smooth, elliptical to spindle shaped.
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