Urnula craterium

Urnula craterium

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Pezizomycetes
Order: Pezizales
Family: Sarcosomataceae
Genus: Urnula
Species:
U. craterium
Binomial name
Urnula craterium
(Schwein.) Fr. (1851)
Synonyms
  • Peziza craterium Schwein. (1822)
  • Cenangium craterium (Schwein.) Fr. 1828
  • Geopyxis craterium (Schwein.) Rehm (1894)
  • Sarcoscypha craterium (Schwein.) Bánhegyi (1938)
Urnula craterium
Smooth hymenium
No distinct cap
Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
Stipe is bare
Ecology is parasitic or saprotrophic
Edibility is inedible

Urnula craterium is a species of cup fungus in the family Sarcosomataceae. Appearing in early spring, its distinctive goblet-shaped and dark-colored fruit bodies have earned it the common names crater cup, devil's urn and the gray urn. The asexual (imperfect), or conidial stage of U. craterium is a plant pathogen known as Conoplea globosa, which causes a canker disease of oak and several other hardwood tree species.

Urnula craterium is parasitic on oak and various other hardwoods; it is also saprobic, as the fruit bodies develop on fallen dead wood. The species is distributed in eastern North America, Europe, and Asia. It produces bioactive compounds that can inhibit the growth of other fungi.