Helvella atra

Helvella atra
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Pezizomycetes
Order:	Pezizales
Family:	Helvellaceae
Genus:	Helvella
Species:	H. atra
Binomial name
Helvella atra J. König
Synonyms
Leptopodia atra(J. König) Boud

Helvella atra, commonly known as the dark elfin saddle, ^[1] is a species of fungus in the family Helvellaceae of the order Pezizales.

Description

The gray mushroom has a saddle-shaped cap, up to 2 centimetres (3⁄4 in) tall and wide. The stalk is up to 3.5 cm long and 5 millimetres (1⁄4 in) thick. ^[1]

Distribution

This species has been found in China ^[2] and Japan. ^[3] It is listed in A Field Guide to Mushrooms of the Carolinas ^[4] and has been reported on iNaturalist as having been found once in western North Carolina and across similar latitudes, including several times across the Eastern US, in Europe, Russia, etc.

References

1. Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. pp. 813–14. ISBN   978-0-89815-170-1.
2. Zhuang WY. (2004). "Preliminary survey of the Helvellaceae from Xinjiang, China". Mycotaxon. 90 (1): 35–42.
3. Nagao H. (2002). "Fungal flora in Chiba Pref., central Japan (III) Ascomycetes: Plectomycetes and Discomycetes". Journal of the Natural History Museum and Institute Chiba (in Japanese). 5: 111–32.
4. Bessette1 Bessette2 Hopping3, Alan1 Arleen2 Michael3 (2018). A Field Guide to Mushrooms of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 349. ISBN   9781469638539.

External links

Helvella atra Mycological characteristics
	Smooth hymenium
	Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
	Stipe is bare
	Ecology is mycorrhizal
	Edibility is unknown

• Index Fungorum