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September 28, 2020  |  By Ben Ivers

Green Elfcup

Green Elfcup Live

I hope you do a double-take when looking at this green elfcup

It's really hard to tell what you're looking at when you first see this photo. First of all, the shapes are very abnormal. The colors are atypical for the things we are used to seeing. Lastly, the dimensions are quite challenging to pickup. Is this something big or small? That's what I love about this photo of a green elfcup mushroom. I love a photo that makes you do a double-take to understand what you are seeing.

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I took this photo while out for a hike with Jill at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We were hiking the Cucumber Gap Loop trail from the Elkmont trailhead. This hike has an interesting start in that it begins near several old buildings. These were once part of a small resort village that was constructed in the 1920s. Included among these buildings is the old Appalachian Clubhouse. Surprisingly, this old building is now available for rent within the park!

The identification process for this green elfcup was not something that I was confident that I was going to be able to do. I am not the most knowledgeable about mushrooms, and I didn't have the best angles of the specimen to be feel good that I was going to be able to identify them. I came across the website First Nature that really helped speed up my process. They have done a great job of cataloging mushroom species by fungus orders and families.

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After combing through the 26 different pages of fungus orders and families, I had finally determined that I had photographed a Chlorociboria aeruginascens, which is commonly known as green elfcup or green wood cup. The mushrooms seen in this photo are less than half of an inch tall, and they covered the oak log that they are pictured on.

I combed through 26 pages (and hundreds of images) to identify this mushroom

Green stained wood is a sign of green elfcup

After doing a bit more research, I uncovered that I had seen green elfcup hundreds of time ins my life while out hiking in the woods, I had just not seen it in its fruitbody form. If you have ever seen green stained wood while out in a forest, you were likely seeing evidence of green elfcup. When wood is infected with the spores of the green elfcup fungus, it turns characteristically green. This is due to the quinone pigment called xylindein that is produced by this species of fungus.

THIS MONTH'S GALLERY
fungi hiking macro mushroom smoky mountains tennessee weird

Article by Ben Ivers

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Matt Hamas and Ben Ivers here. We are focused on fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of the environment. We endeavor to bring you a unique perspective of the wild. Our photos are being placed here for you to enjoy. Please feel free to download any of the photos for your personal use. We are currently seeking partners for printing and developing photos.

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