Charred pancake year?
Text and photos: Urmas Tartes, Loodusemees
Translation: Liis
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(Charrred pancake cup) |
Limatünnik |
The Sarcosoma globosum, "Charred pancake cup", is a mysterious spring fungus with the habit of showing up only occasionally. Only in certain special springs its wrinkled, leathery fruiting body, looking like a barrel, creeps up through the moss near spruces.
No one can predict when the Sarcosomas will be there.
Sometimes it can remain hidden in the ground for years. This makes it so much more exciting to explore the mossy ground in spruce forests at the end of April and beginning of May – it may suddenly be there!
This spring seems to be special for the Sarcosomas. At least in one previously known place in a spruce forest in Taevaskoda there are tens of them. So there is reason to believe that they could also be found elsewhere in Estonia.
It is worthwhile looking for them. This is an extremely rare and endangered species in an European perspective. In Estonia it is included in Protection Category I.
Should you find a "charred pancake cup" Sarcosoma be sure to photograph it and send the photo with information on the finding location to a fungi expert or to the Environmental Board.
Translator's note: There does not seem to be a generally recognised English name for this fungus; "charred pancake cup" is only used in a few sources. The Estonian "limatünnik" means "slime barrel".
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