Fluted bird’s nest fungi

31 Friday Jan 2025

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Bird's nest fungi, British fungi, Cyathus striatus, Fluted Bird's-nest fungi, woodland fungi

Almost seven and a half years have passed since I first saw these fungi, the perfectly named Fluted bird’s nest fungi (Cyathus striatus) (I blogged about that sighting in More Bird’s-nests with eggs! on 11 September 2017).

Since then, every time I’ve passed this location I’ve cast my eye over the various mossy logs and branches that lie adjacent to the path, hoping to spot them again. I saw nothing until my visit this past Wednesday and, to be honest, I’m amazed I was able to see them then, as the logs were draped in Bramble, through which I had to push my way to get closer. It was worth a couple of scratches though, to see these stunning fungi again.

With their shaggy looking exterior covering and the ribbed interior, they’re very distinctive and so easy to identify, which is always a bonus with fungi. They can be found (if you’re lucky!) growing on wood, usually within woodlands.

More Bird’s-nests with eggs!

11 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature

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Bird's nest fungi, British fungi, Cyathus striatus, Fluted Bird's-nest fungi, fungi

How lucky am I? In the short space of just two weeks, I’ve been privileged to see two different types of Bird’s-nest fungi (the post about the Common Bird’s-nests is here), both with eggs in their nests. This second lot are Fluted Bird’s-nest fungi (Cyathus striatus; Cyathus from the Greek kyath, meaning cup-shaped, and striatus to indicate the striated or ribbed sides).

170911 Cyathus striatus Fluted Bird's Nest (1)

Fungi expert Pat O’Reilly (on his First Nature website) likens the reproduction of these fungi to a game of Tiddlywinks: I wrote about their ‘eggs’ in my previous post but Pat’s description is much the better read, of course.

170911 Cyathus striatus Fluted Bird's Nest (5)

170911 Cyathus striatus Fluted Bird's Nest (6)

170911 Cyathus striatus Fluted Bird's Nest (7)

Although these fungi are probably common, both their preferred habitat (of rotting logs in shady woodlands) and their excellent camouflage make them difficult to spot so they are rarely seen. As you can probably imagine, I was very excited when told their location by a friend and then to see them for myself. Many photographs were taken!