Elfin Saddle

Helvella crispa

Toxic lookalike

Also called white elfin saddle, fluted white helvella.

The elfin saddle is a whitish fungus with a floppy, saddle-shaped cap on a deeply fluted stem. It grows on the ground in woods from late summer to fall and is related to the false morels. Most current field guides do not list it as edible.

A white elfin saddle with a wavy, lobed cap and a ribbed stem among fallen oak leaves

The tell

Whitish, floppy saddle-shaped cap on a deeply ribbed, chambered white stem.

Field marks

What to look at

Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.

Cap
Irregularly lobed and saddle-shaped, with two to four lobes that are often wavy or folded. The upper surface is white to cream or pale buff.
Underside
No gills or pores. The underside of the cap is smooth to finely fuzzy, pale tan to buff.
Stem
White, deeply ribbed and fluted with long grooves and holes, and chambered inside. No ring and no cup.
Flesh
Thin, brittle and whitish. Smell is not distinctive.
Spore print
White.
Size
Cap 1 to 2 inches wide (2.5 to 5 cm); stem 2 to 4 inches tall (5 to 10 cm).

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
Hardwood and mixed forests, often along trails, paths and disturbed ground.
Grows on
Soil and leaf litter.
Season
Late summer through fall.
Range
Widely reported across North America, though North American collections may represent more than one species.

Lookalikes

What the elfin saddle gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  1. Hooded false morel (Gyromitra infula)

    Also saddle-shaped and also in fall, but its cap is reddish brown to dark brown and its stem is smooth rather than deeply ribbed. It grows on or near rotting wood and contains gyromitrin.

  3. Black elfin saddle (Helvella lacunosa)

    Same shape and the same ribbed, chambered stem, but the cap is gray to black and the stem is gray.

Edibility

What the field guides say

Toxic lookalike

Field guides are split. Some older guides list the elfin saddle as edible after cooking, while most current guides list it as not recommended or poisonous, and raw specimens have been recorded causing gastrointestinal upset. Helvella is related to Gyromitra, and the hooded false morel (Gyromitra infula), which contains gyromitrin, has a similar saddle shape and fruits in the same season.

This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.

FAQ

Questions about the elfin saddle

Is the elfin saddle poisonous?

Sources disagree. Some older guides list Helvella crispa as edible after cooking, while most current North American guides list it as not recommended, and raw specimens have caused gastrointestinal upset. It is related to the false morels, which contain the toxin gyromitrin.

What does an elfin saddle look like?

A white to cream cap with two to four floppy lobes, shaped like a saddle, on a white stem with deep ribs and holes. It stands 2 to 6 inches tall and has no gills.

Where do elfin saddles grow?

On the ground in hardwood and mixed forests, often beside trails and on disturbed soil. They appear from late summer through fall.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Helvella crispa

    MushroomExpert.com

  2. Helvella crispa

    Index Fungorum

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