Scientific name
Chlorociboria aeruginascens
Description
Green Elfcup features apothecia i.e. cup-shaped ascocarps that are often connected laterally, frequently smaller than 0.5 cm wide, collapsing laterally, and being curled inwards when dry. The ectal excipulum, the apothecium’s exterior tissue layer, is made up of silky, hair-like hyphae that are either straight or occasionally coiled. It has a fragile tomentose surface. The stipe generally has an eccentric or central contact to the apothecia and is no more than 3 mm long. The stipe and cup’s bottom are felty and a light blue-green that gets darker with age, while the upper surface is brilliant green and smooth. Apothecia thrive on wood without bark, particularly oak, a portion of which the mycelium has at least partially dyed green.
Habitat
The geographic range of this ascomycetous fungus is widespread and encompasses both Europe and North America.
Uses/Importance
The Amazon rainforest’s environment depends on the Green Elf Cup mushroom because it is an excellent decomposer and recycler of natural materials.Before nutrients are made available for new plants to grow, a tree must disintegrate after it dies. Fungi are particularly essential because they degrade organic matter, allowing plants to re-use nutrients and allowing rainforests to flourish on relatively poor soil. The Amazonian environment would lose a lot of trees if the Green Elf Cup mushrooms were removed, and plants would struggle to acquire the nutrients they need from the soil.
Xylindein is a quinone pigment found in this species. The bluish-green stain that distinguishes timber infected by this mushroom and is still utilized in beautiful woodworking techniques like parquetry and Tunbridge ware might be attributed to this chemical. This “green oak” wood has been used for intarsia panels from the 15th century in Italy, when Fra Giovanni da Veroni utilized it.
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