Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha Austriaca) is a saprophytic fungus that grows on dead and decaying wood. It can be found in winter and early spring, when not many other mushrooms grow. Along with its unique cup-like shape, and vivid red color of the cup inside, it’s generally difficult to confuse this fungus for something else.
Identical looking Ruby Elf Cup, which can only be distinguished from Scarlet Elf Cup with the use of a microscope, is the only other mushroom that this could be realistically confused with, but whereas both are edible, to a practical forager there is no real difference.
In this video I show you how I harvest Scarlet Elf Cups in its natural habitat and tell you all about what the mushroom looks like, what it’s uses are, in particular how to use it in cooking, and even talk about its taste and how to incorporate it into recipes.
There is also a documented medicinal use of Scarlet Elf Cups, with the Oneida native peoples of Northern New York State in the USA using it externally to aid in wound healing, especially the navel wounds of newborns.
I hope the video was helpful and educational for you, but please bear in mind that I’m not an expert and may be wrong about anything I say. Always do your own research and if you need an expert advice, do consult an actual expert. Please review my disclaimers at https://www.nophoneman.com/wild-edibles-disclaimer/ and https://www.nophoneman.com/medical-disclaimer/.
00:00 Disclaimer
00:12 Introducing Scarlet Elf Cup
01:16 Harvesting Scarlet Elf Cup
02:22 Scarlet Elf Cup hiding under leaf cover
03:12 Eurasian Jay mimics a Buzzard while I talk
03:39 Comparison to Ruby Elf Cup
04:53 Scarlet Elf Cup must be cooked before consumption
05:11 How Scarlet Elf Cups release spores
07:08 Scarlet Elf Cup growing on wood
07:52 Tiny little Scarlet Elf Cup
08:07 Suffolk Lungwort found beside Scarlet Elf Cups
Keep rocking :o)
Mark
https://www.nophoneman.com/
▶️ 3Speak