Fluted Bird's Nest - Cyathus striatus
Fruiting bodies that look like bird's nests! The metallic gray "eggs" inside the nests are called peridioles and contain spores. The shaggy, vase-shaped "nests", called peridia, serve as "splash cups" and help with spore dispersal by using the kinetic energy of rain. When raindrops strike the nest, the peridioles are projected into the air where they can then latch onto branches, leaves, etc. The nests were approximately 1 cm tall.
You can see the goo inside the nest on the left, which appears to have opened prematurely. I did not cut the nest open, but the triangular opening doesn't look natural. I found this fungus in a swamp though, and wouldn't expect many, if any, people to be wandering about in this location. So, I'm not sure how/why it was opened.
Habitat: Growing on rotting wood in a swampy, mixed forest.
"Cyathus striatus" is a common saprobic bird's nest fungus with a widespread distribution throughout temperate regions of the world. This fungus resembles a miniature bird's nest with numerous tiny "eggs"; the eggs, or "peridioles", are actually lens-shaped bodies that contain spores.
