Golden cup or Scarlet elf cup

The fruiting body is cup- or goblet-shaped, 1-3 cm across and 0.5-1.5 cm tall, with no clear division into cap and stem. The inner surface (hymenium) is smooth, silky-shiny, bright orange to flame-yellow. The outer surface is paler, creamy orange, with fine whitish down. The rim of the cup is thin, curled downward in young specimens and flattening out or slightly wavy in mature ones.

The fruiting body is shaped like a cup or a deep bowl 1.5-6 cm across and 1-3 cm tall. The inner (upper) surface is bright cinnabar red, smooth and glossy. The outer (lower) surface is lighter, pinkish-cream to whitish, with a fine white velvety down. The cup's rim is even, slightly wavy in mature specimens.

A smooth hymenium covers the inner surface of the cup. The spores ripen in microscopic sacs (asci). The spore print is colorless to pale yellow. The spores are shot out at the slightest change in air pressure or moisture — a trait shared by all Pezizales.

The spore-bearing layer sits on the inner surface of the cup, red and smooth. Unlike gilled mushrooms, there are no gills or tubes here — it's a typical discomycete with an open, disc-like hymenium. When ripe, the spores are released in a "puff" at a sudden jolt — a striking sight you can see by blowing on the cup on a sunny day.

The stem is almost absent — the fruiting body is sessile or has a short, narrowed base 2-5 mm tall, barely sunk into the soil.

The stem is short, 1-3 cm tall, 0.3-0.5 cm thick, lateral or central, often barely visible under the leaf litter. Its color is whitish to pink. The mushroom often looks like a "cup sitting right on the twig".

The flesh is thin (1-2 mm), waxy, brittle and orange-yellowish. It doesn't change color when cut. No distinct smell or taste.

Flesh thin, gelatinous, springy and crisp, reddish (like the cup), doesn't change color when damaged. Fresh, it's soft, and feels like a thin sheet of rubber. When it dries it becomes brittle and dark red.

Faint, neutral, indistinct. Not tasted — the mushroom is inedible.

The smell is faint, mushroomy, slightly earthy, with no distinctive notes. The taste of the flesh is mild and neutral, with no acridity or bitterness.