 The phylogenetic relationships in the genus Sarcoscypha were analyzed by Francis Harrington in the late 1990s . The cladistic analysis combined comparison of sequences from the internal transcribed spacer in the non @-@ functional RNA with fifteen traditional morphological characters , such as spore features , fruit body shape , and degree of hair curliness . Based on this analysis , S. occidentalis is part of a clade of evolutionarily related taxa that includes the species S. dudleyi , S. emarginata , S. <unk> , S. <unk> and S. mesocyatha . All of these species contain large oil droplets in their spores , in contrast to the other major clade of Sarcoscypha ( containing the type species S. coccinea ) , characterized by having smaller , more numerous droplets . The species most closely related to S. occidentalis is S. mesocyatha , known only from Hawaii . 
