The stem is hollow when mature, often very much deformed, whitish, scurvy, frequently enlarged or swollen at the base, sometimes lacunose, frequently attenuated upward, at first stuffed; asci cylindrical, apex obtuse, base attenuated, 8-spored; spores obliquely uniseriate, hyaline, smooth, continuous, elliptical, 17–25×9–11µ; paraphases numerous.
This plant will be readily recognized from Figure 418, and its bay-red or chestnut-red cap with its brain-like convolutions. The books speak of its being found in pine regions, but I have found it frequently in the woods near Bowling Green, Sidney, and Chillicothe. Many authors give this plant a bad reputation, yet I have eaten it often and when it is well prepared it is good. I should advise caution in its use. It is found in damp sandy woods during May and June. The plant in Figure 418 was found near Chillicothe.
Gyromitra brunnea. Underwood.
The Brown Gyromitra. Edible.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Figure 419.—Gyromitra brunnea.
Brunnea is from brunneus, brown. A stout, fleshy plant, stipitate, three to five inches high, bearing a broad, much contorted, brown ascoma. Stem is ¾ to 1.5 inch thick, more or less enlarged and spongy, solid at the base, hollow below, rarely slightly fluted, clear white; receptacle two to four inches across in the widest direction, the two diameters usually more or less unequal, irregularly lobed and plicate; in places faintly marked into areas by indistinct anastomosing ridges; closely cohering with the stem in the various parts; color a rich chocolate-brown or somewhat lighter if much covered with the leaves among which it grows; whitish underneath; asci 8-spored. Spores oval. This plant is found quite frequently about Bowling Green. The land is very rich there and produced both G. esculenta and G. brunnea in greater abundance than I have found elsewhere in the state. It is quite tender and fragile. The specimen in Figure 419 was found near Cincinnati and photographed by Mr. C. G. Lloyd.