(Pseudorhizina californica, Helvella californica)
Umbrella False Morel
Rather surprisingly this fungus is rare in California where first discovered and much more likely to be encountered west of the Cascades in the PNW. It favors dense older forests where it grows on well-rotted wood and woody debris. It is a spring-fruiting species. Caps range from 5-15 cm across. They are some shade of brown ranging from tan to reddish brown to olive brown to grayish brown. They are incurved, smooth, moist and strongly lobed and lumpy with grooves and depressions. The underside is white and ribbed part-way outward from the stipe. The flesh is quite thin and usually fragile or brittle. Caps may be so contorted that they totally obscure the stipe. The stipes are up to about 8 cm tall and 4-5 cm across, deeply fluted and chambered. Stipes are white and usually show pinkish tints in the lower stalk, not seen in the photo. There is an earthy odor and the taste is mild. The fungus should not be eaten, as almost nothing is know of its edibility. That said, toxic gyromitrins have not been isolated from the fungus and there have been no reported poisonings.