Contents
The elastic blade represents the genus Helvella (Helvella), the eponymous family of the Helwellian order Pezievye. The second name is gelvella elastic, or elastic. The species belongs to the conditionally edible category.
What do elastic blades look like
The mushroom has an unusual structure: a straight cylindrical leg, a brown cap of a specific shape, resembling a blade, a saddle or a potato tuber. At a young age, it has a light yellowish color, but as it grows, it acquires a brownish-gray tint.
A brown or brownish-beige hat has two compartments, its diameter is 2-6 cm
The light flesh is distinguished by a thin and brittle structure, despite the name of the species.
White leg of classical cylindrical shape, the same thickness from below and from above. In some specimens, it is curved, up to 5-6 cm in height, with a diameter of not more than 1 cm.
The inside of the leg is completely hollow, which makes the mushroom easy to break.
Spore powder is white, with oval smooth spores.
The elastic blade is clearly shown in the video:
Where elastic blades grow
It is most often found in areas of deciduous and mixed forests. The period of active fruiting begins in mid-summer and lasts until the end of September. Often, the elastic lobe grows in damp places, in a favorable climate it spreads in the form of large colonies. The main areas are Eurasia, as well as North and South America.
When the mushrooms form a group, the twisted caps of the fruiting bodies bend in different directions. Mushroom pickers believe that representatives of the Helwell family serve as “pointers” by which you can navigate the area.
Is it possible to eat elastic lobes
Since the mushroom is classified as a conditionally edible category, it is allowed to use fruiting bodies for culinary purposes only after preliminary heat treatment. In some sources, you can find information that the species is completely inedible. This is due to the unpleasant and bitter taste of the pulp, which is why mushroom pickers bypass the found specimens.
False doubles
The elastic blade has characteristic external features, which makes it easy to distinguish it from other varieties. Fruiting bodies can only be confused with the black lobe (Helvella atra), which is characterized by a darker shade of the cap and a folded, slightly ribbed stem.
This is a rare representative of the Helwellian family, often growing in large colonies on the territory of deciduous and coniferous forests.
The main distribution area is the regions of North and South America and Eurasia. The basis of the fruiting body is the stem and cap. The black lobe is unsuitable for human consumption, it belongs to the inedible group.
Conclusion
The elastic lobe belongs to the fourth, conditionally edible, category of mushrooms, it represents the Helwellian family. It can be easily distinguished by the brown color of the cap of a specific shape, as well as by the thin white stem. A variety grows in coniferous and mixed forests, bears fruit from mid-summer to late September. Most often it can be found on the territory of Eurasia and America. Fruiting bodies can be eaten only after heat treatment. There is only one double in the species – the inedible black lobe, which can be identified by the darker color of the cap.