Helvella lacunosa, Black elfin saddle no 2

Helvella crispa - White Saddle

This mushroom with its white contorted, irregular-shaped body and saddle-like cap is known as the White Saddle. Commonly occurring in beech woods and alongside footpaths where it is thought to be ectomycorrhizal, forming a beneficial relationship with woody plant roots and providing them with essential nutrients in return for simple sugars produced by the plant.

There are no gills, pores or teeth as this is a spore shooter, which fires out spores from tiny holes, invisible to the naked eye, on the outside surface of the saddle-like cap.

Everything about this mushroom is unique and no two are ever the same. The whole body is a continuously folded and crunched-up membrane that’s been formed into a childlike interpretation of a wonderful and interesting mushroom