Species details
Black saddle
Helvella atra
Inedible
Photo: Bjorn Sothmann · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo source · License
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Description
A dark brown to nearly black saddle fungus with a saddle-shaped head and relatively smooth dark stem.
Identification features
Fruitbody up to about 10 cm tall. Cap 1.5–4 cm wide, saddle-shaped with two upward-pointing lobes, grey- to black-brown or nearly black. Stem 3–8 cm tall, smooth to partly fluted and somewhat paler than the head.
Identification checklist
Check the nearly black saddle-shaped head and dark relatively smooth stem without pronounced deep pits.
How to separate similar species
Helvella lacunosa has a distinctly deeply fluted, paler stem. Dark saddle fungi can look similar, so atypical specimens need further identification.
Habitat
Grows on sandy soils beside roads, in gardens, parks and mixed woodland in summer and autumn; not common.
Fruiting period
June, July, August, September, October