Gyromitra infula

Unlike other Gyromitra species, its fruiting bodies grow in late summer and autumn rather than in spring. The pileus is broadly set, usually saddle-shaped in two or three lobes. Its colour may vary, most commonly chocolate brown with blackish hue, but even pale yellow to dark brown may occur. The fungus grows on the ground but also on decaying wood buried in the soil and is also known by the common name “elfin saddle”. It is generally considered as a saprophyte. Some mycologists believe that the fungus forms a mycorrhizal association with trees. Like its relative Gyromitra esculenta – the brain mushroom, which grows in spring, the elfin saddle is a poisonous species.