Identification: A strange fungus - looks almost like an old round candle!

Hello all,

I'm currently living with my girlfriend in Italy and in one of the plant pots on our balcony, under some other flowers, a few strange waxy looking things have appeared.

When we saw the first one we thought it may have been an old candle that had somehow fallen in there, but then we saw more of them and assumed they must be fungi.

They have the texture and feel of candle wax and the biggest (shown) is about 5cm in diameter. They are growing in the shade (the plant pot itself only getting sun first thing in the morning) and the soil is usually fairly damp.

I've had a look on the Internet and the closest thing I could find was the Sarcoscypha coccinea, although that is red and this is a pale colour.

Does anyone have any ideas what they are - and should we remove them?

Many thanks,

Andrew

 

Looks like the American Sarcosphaera coronaria. I'd bet yours is in the same (or similar) genus but a different species.

 

It looks like a Peziza, like P. domestica. Which would also fit the habitat. I think Sarcosphaeras are mycorrhizal.