Helvella queletii

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

by Michael Kuo

Helvella queletii has a grayish brown to brown, cuplike cap that sits atop a whitish, ribbed stem. The ribs do not extend more than a few milimeters onto the under surface of the cup, which helps to separate it from look-alike species--but microscopic features (see below) should probably be checked, as well. Helvella queletii grows under hardwoods or conifers, and is fairly widely distributed in North America.

Edibility for Helvella queletii is not known; do not experiment.

Description:

Ecology: Uncertain (potentially saprobic and/or mycorrhizal, like the morels); growing alone or gregariously; terrestrial under hardwoods or conifers; spring and early summer (fall, winter and spring in western North America); widely distributed.

Cap: 1.5-6 cm; when young often folded inward along a central axis; cup-like or saucer-like at maturity (sometimes irregular); upper surface grayish brown to brown, smooth or slightly wrinkled; under surface pale grayish brown to whitish (sometimes darker near the margin), densely but finely fuzzy.

Flesh: Thin; brittle.

Stem: To 11 cm long and 4 cm thick; flaring to apex and/or base; usually deeply ribbed with round-edged ribs that terminate at the apex of the stem and do not continue far onto the under surface of the cap; whitish or very pale brown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 17-22 x 11-14 µ; elliptical; smooth; with one central oil droplet. Paraphyses with club-shaped tips, 7-8 µ wide at apex. Asci branched at the base; 240-300 x 14-18 µ.

REFERENCES: Bresadola, 1882. (Saccardo, 1889; Smith Weber, 1972; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Breitenbach & Kränzlin, 1984; Arora, 1986; Abbott & Currah, 1997; Barron, 1999; Treibs, 2001.) Herb. Kuo 05070702.

Helvella solitaria is a synonym, and may be the more appropriate name for the species, since solitaria predates queletii.

Helvella costifera and Helvella acetabulum have ribs that extend far onto the under surface of the cap; Helvella leucomelaena has a less developed stem that is often buried underground; Helvella macropus has a non-ribbed stem.

Further Online Information:

Helvella queletii at MykoWeb
Helvella queletii at Fungi of Poland

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2007, May). Helvella queletii species cluster. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/helvella_queletii.html