252 
THE PLANT WORLD. 
rather closely related and are not uncommon. The plants are 
conspicuous in size, and upright and elongated. In the common 
forms the plants are three to six inches high and one to nearly 
two inches in diameter. The stem is about one-half the length 
of the plant, sometimes less, sometimes more, and is usually a 
little less in diameter than the “ cap.” The cap or head is oval 
to cylindrical or conic and is marked by deep and large depres¬ 
sions giving an irregular coarse honeycombed appearance to the 
surface. 
Note the form of the plant and proportions of stem and “ cap.” 
Note the character of the surface of the stem. Note the form 
of the pits or depressions over the cap, and their arrangement in 
different specimens. Split a plant lengthwise and note the char¬ 
acters. Morchella esculent a and M. conica are two common 
species. The morels are edible. 
The Helvellas. 
The helvellas grow in similar situations as the morels. The 
plants are erect, have a distinct stem, while the cap is mitrate and 
is formed of a more or less irregular thick plate-like structure 
surrounding the upper part of the stem and coarsely wrinkled or 
convoluted or is somewhat saddle-shaped. 
Gyromitra esculenta (the esculent convoluted cap) occurs 
about the same season as the morels, and is of quite good size, 
two to three or four inches high and nearly as broad. The cap 
is strongly wrinkled or convoluted and dark brown. The stem 
is stout, being an inch to nearly two inches in diameter. 
Note form and color of the plant, the peculiar way in which 
the cap is convoluted, and also how it is attached to the stem at 
various points. 
This plant is edible but the water in which it is first cooked is 
said to be poisonous. The plant should be first parboiled and 
the water thrown away. 
The true helvellas belong in the genus Helvetia.—Helvetia la- 
cunosa and H. crispa are common species. They occur during 
the summer. The first is usually dark gray, the second is entirely 
white. They may be known by the stems which have deep longi- 
