Scutellinia scutellata

 "With this mushroom, the scientific name always pops into my head before the common name - Scutellinia scutellata. Try saying that five times fast!"

Scutellinia Scutellata - a common, and commonly overlooked, 
little cup mushroom. It is namely known (though not scientifically named
for) its minute hairs along the margin. Photo by Kathy Daniel.

While it's fun that the Molly eye-winker carries my own name, I find the scientific name most amusing to verbalize for program participants. Paying note to the scientific name of a species also proves useful whether learning to identify mushrooms in the field or when sorting our collections at the Museum. 

Drawing from the epithet while crouched over a decaying log, I point to the small, flame-orange cluster of cups and slowly sound out Scu-te-llinia. "Compare that to the Latin noun scutellus, which refers to a small shield/bowl/dish. Apparently, scutellata means just about the same. 

I have to pull away from the mediocre Latin lesson to direct squinty-eyed mycophiles towards another identifying feature. Dark hairs - "eyelashes" - line the margin of the cup. They're a unique feature, but demand a very close look and are unfortunately not described by the scientific name of this species. Nobody ever said that scientific names were perfect. 

Labels identifying the scientific names of each mushroom
illustration must be updated often to account for regular
shuffling of fungi taxonomy based on an uptick on research
and DNA analysis. 

Arriving back at the Museum, any specimens collected in the field are properly catalogued and both scientific and common names identified in their records. We heed these names as we file our plants into Family folders, label our familiar Bubo and Strix owl mounts for display, and familiarize eager collections volunteers with the ever-descriptive, ever-changing (and ever-frustrating) taxonomy of a natural history collection.