Bulgaria inquinans - Black Bulgar

Taxonomy

Class: Leotiomycetes

Order: Helotiales

Family: Bulgariaceae

Bulgaria inquinans, sometimes referred to as the Black Bulgar, Bachelor's Buttons or Rubber Buttons, grows in groups most commonly on felled oak trunks and fallen branches, and occasionally on other dead hardwoods. It is a winter fungus, sometimes persisting through to March.

Despite its texture this is not one of the hererobasidiomycetes 'Jelly Fungi' which belong to the class Basidiomycota. Bulgaria inquinansbelongs to the Ascomycota.

Identification guide

Fruitbody	Flat-topped at first but becoming slightly cup shaped, Bulgaria inquinans is easily overlooked because it is almost black. Its fertile surface is shiny, and the sides (the outsides of the cup) are felty and dark brown. The flesh of the fruitbody is dark ochre-brown. It is soft and rubbery in wet weather but in dry conditions it becomes tougher and more like elastic. Often growing in dense masses, the individual fruit bodies are between 0.5 and 4cm across and typically 1cm tall.
Spore print	Very dark brown, almost black.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	On felled oaks, Sweet Chestnut and Beech; less frequently on Ash.
Season	October to February.
Occurrence	Frequent.
Similar species	Neobulgaria pura is similar in shape and size but creamy white.