Gray's Cup Lichen

Cladonia grayi G.Merr. ex Sandst.

Also called: Gray’s Pixie-cup Lichen

Edibility

Edibility unknown — do not eat

Never eat a wild mushroom based on this site or any app.

Photos

Photo: Dan Vickers. CC-BY. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: Bonnie Isaac. CC0. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: Leila Dasher. CC-BY. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: Leila Dasher. CC-BY. Source (inaturalist)

Lookalikes

No lookalikes are recorded for this species yet. That does not mean there are none. Many mushrooms look alike, so never rely on appearance alone.

Season

When this species has been recorded, by month, from open-licensed US and Canada observations. It shows when people report it, not a guarantee it is fruiting.

The highlighted bar is the current month.

View season data as a table

Recorded observations of Gray's Cup Lichen by month
Month	Records
January	183
February	134
March	236
April	232
May	263
June	341
July	434
August	328
September	355
October	334
November	200
December	129

Where it is found

States and provinces with the most records. Check the foraging rules for the place you plan to visit.

Maryland 542 records · Foraging rules
Virginia 423 records · Foraging rules
Pennsylvania 199 records · Foraging rules
North Carolina 183 records · Foraging rules
Massachusetts 171 records · Foraging rules
New Jersey 163 records · Foraging rules
Minnesota 142 records · Foraging rules
Maine 127 records · Foraging rules
Michigan 122 records · Foraging rules
Missouri 106 records · Foraging rules
Ontario 96 records · Foraging rules
West Virginia 93 records · Foraging rules
Ohio 81 records · Foraging rules
Connecticut 76 records · Foraging rules
Tennessee 69 records · Foraging rules

Show 41 more

New York65 records
Arkansas62 records
Georgia59 records
Kentucky46 records
Alabama44 records
Quebec42 records
Nova Scotia39 records
Alaska37 records
New Brunswick36 records
Wisconsin35 records
Delaware31 records
Vermont31 records
Illinois25 records
District of Columbia20 records
Kansas17 records
Newfoundland and Labrador16 records
Louisiana15 records
New Hampshire15 records
Iowa15 records
Indiana12 records
Manitoba11 records
Oklahoma11 records
Texas11 records
South Carolina10 records
Florida9 records
British Columbia9 records
Rhode Island4 records
Nebraska2 records
Northwest Territories2 records
Prince Edward Island2 records
South Dakota2 records
Washington2 records
Yukon2 records
California2 records
Colorado2 records
Mississippi2 records
Arizona1 records
Hawaii1 records
North Dakota1 records
Nunavut1 records
Alberta1 records

All state and province foraging laws

About

Cladonia grayi, commonly known as Gray's cup lichen or Gray's pixie cup, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Cladoniaceae. It is characterised by small, leaf-like squamules forming its primary thallus and distinctive upright podetia (5–15 mm tall) that develop into goblet-shaped cups. The species contains several unique lichen substances, primarily grayanic acid, which causes it to glow light blue under ultraviolet light, and has also been found to produce protective pyrrolopyrazine compounds. Its photobiont is the green algal species Asterochloris glomerata. The fungal component shows distinctive growth responses during development that occur only when encountering compatible algal cells, with the fungus growing extremely slowly at ≤1 cm per year in culture. Though found worldwide, C. grayi is most abundant in Arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It typically grows on acidic substrates including rotting wood, organic soil layers, and bare ground, showing particular abundance in pine forests across a range of humidity conditions. Two chemical variants (chemotypes) have been documented: one containing only grayanic acid and 4-O-demethylgrayanic acid, and another that additionally contains substances of the fumarprotocetraric acid complex.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the original article.

More in the genus Cladonia

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