 The fruit bodies , or apothecia , of Banksiamyces species are cup @-@ shaped receptacles borne on a stipe ( stalk ) , colored dark brown to black with a dark grey center . When dry , the apothecia are covered with a whitish powder . The edges of the cup may be rolled inwards ( especially when dry ) , or be twisted and somewhat flattened . Both the outermost tissue layer ( the ectal excipulum ) and the tissue of the stalk are made of fungal cells with brown pigments that can be variously thick- or thin @-@ walled , covered with small particles ( granules ) , and spherical to ellipsoid . The middle tissue layer ( the medullary excipulum ) of both the cup and the internal tissue layer ( the medulla ) of the stalk contain a layer of tissue made of hyphae similar to the ectal excipulum . A second layer of tissue is made of hyphae that are translucent and gelatinous ; this layer may be present in either the medullary excipulum , the medulla , or both . 
