The beautiful scarlet cup fungus is quite often found by hikers in the spring. It is widely distributed in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and found growing from rotting wood, it provides a bright contrast to the dull colours of the pre-spring forest floor. The true name of this mushroom is Sarcoscypha Coccinea.
Found growing on decaying hardwood sticks and logs, but sometimes the wood is buried, and the mushrooms appear terrestrial.
The fruiting body is cup-shaped, from 2 to 5 cm across, and the upper surface is scarlet red but fading with age to a reddish-brown and smooth. The undersurface is white to pinkish, with tiny hairs. The stem is absent or rudimentary at most, maybe up to 3 cm long, and the flesh is quite thin.
They are quite edible and are often gathered by morel mushroom hunters in the spring. I do not find them very tasty though.