Helvella crispa (Scop.) Fr.
Family: Helvellaceae
Common White Saddle
Helvella crispa image
National Mushroom Centre  
Mata, M., D. Penjor and S. Pradham. 2010. Fungi of Bhutan. National Mushroom Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Thimphu, Bhutan.

Local name: No local name known

Edibility:Edible

Habitat: Terrestrial and solitary to gregarious.

Description: Fruiting bodies: 1-5 cm, irregularly lobed, looks like paper flower. Upper surface: Smooth or slightly wrinkled and creamy white to yellowish. Under surface: Finely hairy con-coloured with the upper surface or slightly darker, the margin often curled upwards, and usually not fused with the stem where contact occurs. Stem: 3-10 cm tall, 1-3 cm wide, white or slightly pinkish, with cross-veins and pockets like tiny windows. Flesh: Thin, brittle, often chambered in the stem. Spore Print: White

Comments: The white to buff cap and deeply ribbed or fluted stalk are characteristic of this beautiful elfin saddle, which is the type species of the genus Helvella. The cap is not brown as in H. maculatae, nor grey or black as in H.lacunosa.