Scarlet cup, also named scarlet elf cup, is a medium sized cup fungus. It occurs throughout Europe, in eastern North America, Mexico, and Central America. In European folklore, it was said that wood elves drank morning dew from the cups.
Initially spherical, the fruit bodies become cup-shaped saucers with a diameter of 2 to 6 cm. The brilliant red, smooth interior of the cups, from which both the common and scientific names are derived, contrasts with the outer surface, which is whitish and covered with a dense matted layer of tiny hairs. The stipe is stout and up to 4 cm long and up to 0.7 cm thick.