This section is from the book "The Mushroom Book", by Nina L. Marshall. Also available from Amazon: Mushroom Book.
The genus Gyromitra contains seven species. These have the ascomata distinctly stalked, and the upper surface covered with gyrose folds. The largest spore-sac fungi belong in this genus.
Gyromitra esculenta (Edible)
Cap - Bay red, round, lobed, irregular, gyrose-wrinkled, attached to the stem in several places. Hollow, white, and uneven within.
Stem - Whitish, hollow, scurfy. Two or more inches long.
Flesh - Edible only when young and freshly gathered.
Habitat - In sandy soil, during the wet weather of May and June.
G. esculenta.
M. deliciosa.
Section to show margin of the cap united to the stem.
 
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