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Cup Fungi: Class Ascomycota--Family Pezizaceae
One of the most ubiquitous fungi is the domicile cup fungus (Peziza domiciliana), a member of the large family Pezizaceae in the fungal class Ascomycota. The fruiting body is a cup-shaped ascocarp, morphologically the same structure produced by the fungal symbiont (mycobiont) of lichens and many other fungi. Spores are produced in a microscopic sac-like structure called an ascus, a unique structure found in cup fungi, yeast, leaf-curl fungi, truffles and many lichenized fungi called lichens.
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These flattened objects along the baseboard of a carpeted hallway are not pancakes. They are domicile cup fungi (Peziza domiciliana), so named because of the shallow cup-like depression in the center and their common occurrence in houses.
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Domicile cup fungi often occur in groups or they may be solitary. According to David Arora (Mushrooms Demystified, 1986), this remarkable fungus grows on an astonishing variety of substrates, including plaster, cement, sand, gravel, coal dust, fireplace ashes, etc. It can be found in cellars, greenhouses, shower stalls, damp closets, under porches, on wet rugs, behind refrigerators, around leaky water beds and David Arora's car. The following image is of several domicile cup fungi removed from the wall of a bathroom in Carlsbad, California.
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Domicile cup fungus (Peziza domiciliana) removed from the wall of a bathroom in coastal San Diego County. The original ascocarps were somewhat cup-shaped when young. The older specimens were flatenned or wavy (undulate), with a central depression and a short umbilicate stalk. They were fleshy and fragile, and rather difficult to remove in one piece.
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Domicile cup fungus (Peziza domiciliana) removed from the wall of a bathroom in coastal San Diego County. A water pipe leak was apparently contributing to the vigorous growth of this unusual cup fungus.
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Another unusual cup fungus called "dung cup" (Peziza vesiculosa). This species commonly grows on dung, manure and rotting straw in corrals, stables, gardens and other fertilized areas.
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