Otidea onotica - Hare's Ear

Taxonomy

Class: Pezizomycetes

Order: Pezizales

Family: Pyronemataceae

Only an occasional find in deciduous broadleaf woodland, the Hare’s Ear fungus often fruits singly or in rather smaller groups than shown here. Its conspicuously bright colour makes this an easy-to-spot fungus despite its small size.

There is something special about footpaths through woods that suits these are other ear- and cup-like fungi -perhaps it is the disturbance, or maybe the change in soil density due to compaction, that causes them to fruit right on the edges of such well-trodden tracks.

Identification Guide

Description	Elongated cup with a split down the shorter side and edges overlapping rather than merely abutting; inner surface smooth, light brown; outer surface buff and scurfy; margin slightly incurved; 3 to 6cm tall and 1.5 to 4cm across; whitish stem up to 1cm long.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive
Habitat	In mossy woodlands and woodland edges.
Season	June to early November.
Occurrence	Frequent.
Similar species	Otidea bufonia is a much darker brown and usually produces larger cups.