Fluted bird's nest

Appearance

The "nest", or peridium, is usually about 7 to 10 mm in height and 6 to 8 mm in width, but the size is somewhat variable and specimens have been found with heights and widths of up to 1.5 cm. The shape typically resembles a vase or inverted cone. The outer surface ranges in color from slightly brownish to grayish buff to deep brown; the exoperidium has a shaggy or hairy texture, with the hairs mostly pointing downward. The inner surface of the peridium is striated or grooved, and shiny. Young specimens have a lid, technically called an "epiphragm", a thin membrane that covers the cup opening. The epiphragm is hairy like the rest of the exoperidial surface, but the hairs often wear off leaving behind a thin white layer stretched across the lid of the cup. As the peridium matures and expands, this membrane breaks and falls off, exposing the peridioles within. The peridium is attached to its growing surface by a mass of closely packed hyphae called an emplacement; in "C. striatus" the maximum diameter of the emplacement is typically 8–12 mm, and often incorporating small fragments of the growing surface into its structure.

Peridiole structure
The peridioles are about 1 to 1.5 mm wide and rarely up to 2 mm wide. They are disc-shaped, but may appear angular due to pressure from neighbouring peridioles. Peridioles may be dark, or a drab gray if still covered with a thin membrane called a tunica.Peridioles in "C. striatus" are sheathed and attached to the endoperidium by complex cords of mycelia known as a funiculus in the singular. The funiculus is differentiated into three regions: the basal piece, which attaches it to the inner wall of the peridium, the middle piece, and an upper sheath, called the purse, connected to the lower surface of the peridiole. Inside the purse and middle piece is a coiled thread of interwoven hyphae called the funicular cord, attached at one end to the peridiole and at the other end to an entangled mass of hyphae called the "hapteron". When dry the funiculus is brittle, but when wet it is capable of long extension.The basidia, the spore-bearing cells, are club-shaped with long stalks. They typically hold 4 spores that are sessile, that is, attached directly to the surface of the basidium, rather than by a short stalk. Spores measure about 15 to 20 µm long by 8 to 12 µm wide. They are elliptical, smooth, hyaline, and notched at one end. During development, the spores are separated from the basidia when the latter collapse and gelatinize along with other cells lining the inner walls of the peridiole. The spores expand in size somewhat after being detached from the basidia.

Distribution

"Cyathus striatus" is a saprobic fungus, deriving its nutrition from decaying organic material, and is typically found growing in clusters on small twigs or other woody debris. It is also common on mulch under shrubs. The features of the microenvironment largely influence the appearance of "C. striatus"; all else being equal, it is more likely to be found in moist, shallow depressions than elevated areas. It is very widespread in temperate areas throughout the world, growing in summer and fall. The fungus has been recorded from Asia, Europe, North America, Central America, South America, and New Zealand.

Behavior

"Cyathus striatus" can reproduce both asexually, or sexually, typical of taxa in the basidiomycetes that contain both haploid and diploid stages. Basidiospores produced in the peridioles each contain a single haploid nucleus. After the spores have been dispersed into a suitable growing environment, they germinate and develop into homokaryotic hyphae, with a single nucleus in each cell compartment. When two homokaryotic hyphae of different mating compatibility groups fuse with one another, they form a dikaryotic mycelia in a process called plasmogamy. After a period of time and under the appropriate environmental conditions, fruiting bodies may be formed from the dikaryotic mycelia. These fruiting bodies produce peridioles containing the basidia upon which new spores are made. Young basidia contain a pair of haploid sexually compatible nuclei which fuse, and the resulting diploid fusion nucleus undergoes meiosis to produce haploid basidiospores. The process of meiosis in "C. striatus" has been found to be similar to that of higher organisms.

Habitat

"Cyathus striatus" is a saprobic fungus, deriving its nutrition from decaying organic material, and is typically found growing in clusters on small twigs or other woody debris. It is also common on mulch under shrubs. The features of the microenvironment largely influence the appearance of "C. striatus"; all else being equal, it is more likely to be found in moist, shallow depressions than elevated areas. It is very widespread in temperate areas throughout the world, growing in summer and fall. The fungus has been recorded from Asia, Europe, North America, Central America, South America, and New Zealand.