White Saddle

Helvella crispa

Deciduous and coniferous forests, forest clearings, scrub, roadsides. Spring, summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies small, medium-sized. Cap 2-3 (4) cm across, saddle-shaped, made of several irregularly folded lobes, whitish, yellowish. Stem 3-7 (8) x 1-2.5 cm, white, longitudinally ribbed, deeply grooved, hollow. Flesh white, thin, brittle, without a particular smell or taste. Characteristic features: cap and stem fairly brittle, almost white in colour, grows mostly in autumn. Appears singly or in groups. Edible fresh or dried. Common. An easily remembered, recognisable mushroom.