Helvella vespertina N.H. Nguyen & Vellinga
fluted black helvella
Helvellaceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
fluted black helvella
Helvellaceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
Photograph
Species Information
Summary:
{See also Elfin Saddle Table.} This species under conifers in the Pacific Northwest has been known as Helvella lacunosa (a name that covers other species as well). Features include an irregularly lobed cap with the margins turned down and fused to the stem (rarely free), colored light to dark gray, the underside bald and pale when young to pale gray, the stem white becoming gray, highly ribbed and with holes in the surface, growth under conifers on the ground or rarely on wood, primarily in fall, and broadly elliptic spores with one droplet. The group of fungi that has been known under the name Helvella lacunosa comprises a number of species, including in the Pacific Northwest the common Helvella vespertina, Helvella dryophila (under oak, at least as far north as Oregon), and undescribed spp. The main description below is derived from Nguyen(1). The Abbott(1) and Arora(1) descriptions provide additional detail but some aspects of the descriptions could come from other hidden species. In particular the full
Microscopic:
spores 15.7-21.4 x 9.8-12.2(13.7) microns, smooth, with one droplet; asci 8-spored, inamyloid, pleurorhynchous; paraphyses cylindric, 3-5 microns wide, with 4-9 microns wide apex, "with brown intracellular pigment", (Nguyen), spores 14.5-(20) x 10-13 [sic] microns, broadly elliptic, smooth, colorless, with one droplet; asci 238-268 x 13.1-17 microns; paraphyses 3.9-(10) microns wide at tip, terminal cell 124-165 microns long, clavate, enlarged gradually to abruptly at tip, brown, contents finely granular, (Abbott), spores (12)15-21 x (9)11-14 microns, broadly elliptic to nearly round to oblong, smooth or slightly roughened when mature, with one central oil droplet, (Arora)
Notes:
of colors for Helvella vespertina is not yet precisely known. Helvella vespertina is frequently disfigured by the whitish to pinkish parasite Hypomyces cervinigenus and is, less often, host to Clitocybe sclerotoidea. Helvella sulcata, synonymized by Abbott with Helvella lacunosa, is similar but has a small, pale gray to black cap that is usually saddle-shaped with a deep, well-defined cleft plus a ribbed but not lacunose stem, and often grows on rotten wood. RANGE Abbott(1) examined many collections [as H. lacunosa but presumed to represent H. vespertina in large part] from BC, WA, OR, ID, CA, (especially the first two) as well as elsewhere in Canada, USA, and Europe, (Abbott). Helvella vespertina is "widespread and common in the western parts of North America, at sea level in the coastal areas to around 1800 m in the Sierra Nevada and other mountain regions", is known from Vancouver Island (BC), CA, OR and ID and is probably more widespread (Nguyen).
EDIBILITY
yes, do not eat if affected by whitish to pinkish Hypomyces cervinigenus, (Arora), edible, but exercise great caution in identifying or sampling, (Lincoff(1)), not recommended (McKnight)
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Helvella dryophila is similar to H. vespertina but 1) the host is different (oak instead of conifer), 2) the contrast in colour between the cap and stem is striking, 3) the cap "is very dark and squat and rounded with distinct well defined grooves when young", and 4) the fruitbodies are only up to 8.5cm tall, (Nguyen), H. dryophila tends to fruit in spring, and Helvella vespertina in fall. Helvella crispa may be somewhat similar to pale forms of H. ''lacunosa'', but the underside of the cap is pubescent and the marginal curvature is different, (Weber). Helvella maculata is villose on the underside of the cap, and has an incurved cap that unrolls to flaring. (Mottling may occur in H. vespertina and may be absent in H. maculata, and colors of the upper surface could overlap in the two species.). An undescribed Helvella fruiting in spring and squat in stature is described as follows, "From a distance it looks like Helvella dryophila, but this species is associated with conifers, not oaks. Also the stipe is much fatter and very different - it is composed of 1 mm thick tissue folded and pleated (and lacking the strength to hold the cap up very well)." (Mike Beug, pers. comm.). See also SIMILAR section of Helvella corium and Helvella lactea.Habitat
in groups and clusters, "terrestrial in forests and grassy verges", ectomycorrhizal with Pinus (P. muricata - Bishop Pine, P. lambertiana - Sugar Pine, P. ponderosa - Ponderosa Pine), Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir), and possibly Abies concolor (White fir) and Arbutus menziesii (Pacific madrone); fruiting October–March (rarely in April), (Nguyen), single to gregarious, subcespitose [somewhat tufted], or scattered "on soil or litter, rarely on rotted or burnt wood, in coniferous or mixed woods", from June in MB to April 15 in coastal southern BC, November through April fruitings only from southern area [of Pacific Northwest], June to August fruiting only Canada and Alaska, (Abbott), single, scattered, or in groups in woods and under trees, (Arora)