V. THE HELVELLAS. 
The Helvellas are closely related, botanically, to the morels. 
In them the cap is not pitted, as in the morels; yet it is by no 
means even or symmetrical. It is more or less lobed, reflexed or 
variously folded, and the stem in some species is furrowed longi- 
tudinally with continuous or interrupted grooves. The color of 
the cap also varies more in the different species, and the plants 
themselves are mostly of smaller size, and with few exceptions 
are of rarer occurrence. They chiefly occur in woods or on their 
borders, and should not be sought in cleared fields. 
The largest and most common species with us is the Edible 
helvella, or, as it is sometimes called, the Esculent gyromitra, Gy- 
romitra esculenta. The original botanical name was Helvella 
esculenta. This fungus may 
be known by its bay-red, or 
chestnut-red irregular cap, 
with its brain-like convolu- 
tions or irregular foldings, 
inflations and depressions. 
The general form of the cap 
is rounded, and the lower 
margin is attached to the 
stem in two or three places. 
There are sometimes paler 
or yellowish tinted patches 
on the cap, and with ad- 
vanced age, or in drying, it 
assumes darker or brownish 
hues. The stem is whitish 
and scurfy, and often en- 
larged or swollen at the 
base. When mature it is 
hollow. It is frequently de- 
formed or irregular. The 
plant is commonly two to four inches high, with the cap two to 
three inches broad, and the stem one-half to one inch thick. 
Specimens are sometimes large enough to weigh a pound each. 
They appear in this latitude in May and June. I have never 
20 
Esculent Helvella, somewhat reduced. 
