Members of the genus Sarcoscypha have sometimes been ground and stuffed into belly-buttons. In Wales they eat them. But where will the sprites and spirits collect the morning dew? Better to admire Sarcoscypha occidentalis as a late spring delight — resting on a log under tanager songs and maybe write a poem if one comes along. That’s how we do it. — Jack Phillips
Photo by Robert Smith, late May in the oak-hickory forest in Fremont County, Iowa.
