Helvellacese 



HELVEL'LA Linn. 

 A small pot herb. 



Heiveiia. Stem of medium thickness. PileilS hanging loosely over the stem, 

 more or less folded, but not into pits. Hymenium on the upper side 

 only. 



Helvella esculenta is now Gyromitra esculenta, and is in bad repute. 



Meanings of the unfamiliar words are too lengthy to give in the de- 

 scriptions of species. They are in the Glossary. 



Dr. Badham says: "All Helvellae are esculent, have an agreeable 

 odor, and bear a general resemblance in flavor to the Morell." 



(Plate CXLVI.) 



H. cri'spa Fr. curled. PileuS deflexed, lobed or variously con- 

 torted, white or whitish. Stem 

 equal or slightly swollen at the 

 base, deeply and uninterruptedly 

 grooved, white or whitish. Spores 

 elliptical, 18x22^ long. Peck, ^\.\\ 

 Rep. N. Y. State Bot. 



Distinguished from all other spe- 

 cies by the stout, costate, lacunose, 

 hollow stem ; entirely glabrous, fra- 

 gile and with a semi-transparent 

 look. Color variable, included un- 

 der the following forms : 



Var. al'ba. Pileus whitish. 

 Var. Grevitlei. Under surface 

 of the pileus reddish; stem white. 

 Var. incarnata. Pileus and stem flesh-color. 

 Var. ful'va. Pileus yellowish or tawny. Massee. 

 Pileus whitish, flesh-colored or yellowish, deflexed, lobed, at length 

 free, crisped. Stem hollow, ribbed outside forming deep pits, 3-5 in. 

 high, snowy white. 



Edible. Badkam, Cordicr, Cooke, Berkeley, Peck. 

 West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Mcllvaine. 

 H. crispa is white and variable in shape of cap. In its color it differs 

 from all others of its genus. It is found in the woods only, from July 

 until frost. It is not usually abundant. It is an esculent species and 

 good of its kind. 



536 



HELVELLA CRISPA. 

 Natural size. 



