Bird's Nest

Where it grows

Bird’s nest fungi fruit from late summer through autumn on woodchip mulch, fallen twigs, sawdust, and plant debris in damp shaded places. They are easy to overlook because of their tiny size — a single nest is smaller than a fingernail. Several species occur worldwide, all sharing the same dispersal strategy.

How to recognise it

A miniature goblet or upturned cone, shaggy brown on the outside and smooth fluted grey-brown on the inside. The interior holds 5–15 small lens-shaped “eggs,” each a packet of spores. The cup is the perfect shape to catch a raindrop, which splashes the eggs out to distances of a metre or more. Each egg has a sticky cord that catches on plant stems to anchor it where it lands.

Edibility & cautions

Inedible — too small to bother with and made largely of tough cellulose-rich material. No toxic look-alikes; the genera Cyathus, Crucibulum, and Nidularia all share the same harmless dispersal mechanism. Bird’s nests are favourites with natural history photographers for their tiny, mechanically elegant form.