Helvella crispa

[ Ascomycetes > Pezizales > Helvellaceae > Helvella . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This astonishing mushroom is easily distinguished by its creamy white colors and its ornately fluted stem; it looks like something on the set of The Lord of the Rings. The undersurface of the cap is densely fuzzy, separating Helvella crispa from Helvella lactea, which has a smooth undersurface.

Casual research does not uncover the origin of the sometimes-applied common name "Elfin Saddles" for species of Helvella, but the name certainly applies in the case of Helvella crispa. The original name for the genus, provided by Fries, was Elvella, and the genus also included the species now separated into Gyromitra. The term "elfin saddles" is not used in any of the turn-of-the-century books in my library, nor in works published in the first half of the 20th Century. Arora (1986) uses the term to refer to the genus Helvella, but Weber (1995) applies the name "Elfin Saddle" to Gyromitra infula.

Like all Helvella species, Helvella crispa should not be eaten.

Description:

Ecology: Officially saprobic, but I would guess that it has the potential to be mycorrhizal as well; growing alone or gregariously under conifers or hardwoods, on rotting wood or terrestrially; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America but probably more common east of the Rocky Mountains; according to Lincoff (1992), often occuring "in late-summer lawns near planted conifers" (333). I suspect that it is also fond of disturbed ground settings (roadbanks, landscaping sites, and so on).

Cap: 1-5 cm; saddle-shaped and/or irregularly lobed; surface smooth or slightly wrinkled; white or, more typically, creamy to yellowish; undersurface finely hairy (use a hand lens), colored like the upper surface or slightly darker; the margin often curled upwards, and usually not fused with the stem where contact occurs.

Flesh: Thin; brittle; often chambered in the stem.

Stem: 3-10 cm long; .5-3 cm wide; white or flushed slightly pinkish; deeply and ornately ribbed, with cross-veins and pockets.

Microscopic Features: Spores 17-21 x 10-14 µ; elliptical; smooth; with one oil droplet.

REFERENCES: (Scopoli, 1772) Fries, 1822. (Weber, 1972; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Mezler & Mezler, 1992; Abbott & Currah, 1997; Barron, 1999; Roody, 2003.) Herb. FMP 09120501.

Helvella lactea is very similar; it has cap edges that become fused with the stem, and a smooth undersurface.

Further Online Information:

Helvella crispa at Fungi of Poland

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2005, January). Helvella crispa. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/helvella_crispa.html