Vinegar cup or Elastic saddle

Fruit body up to 8 cm across, cup- or saucer-shaped, 2-4 cm deep. Outer surface yellowish brown, finely warty; inner surface (where the hymenium lies) smooth, yellowish gray-brown, with a silky sheen. Margins thin, often split in mature cups, with an uneven outline.

Cap 1.5-4 cm, two-lobed, saddle-shaped — made up of two distinct lobes hanging over the stem. Color pale yellowish to grayish brown. Surface smooth, without pronounced texture. Margins free, not fused to the stem — this sets it apart from Helvella crispa.

Smooth hymenium on the inner surface of the cup. Spores mature in asci within the hymenial layer. Spore print whitish to cream, spores elliptical, smooth. Chemically, a typical ascomycete.

Smooth hymenium on the upper (convex) surface of the cap. Ascomycete structure — spores form in asci. Spore print white. Spores ellipsoid, smooth, 17-20 × 10-15 µm — large, typical of the genus.

Stem short, 2-4 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, with sharply defined lengthwise ribs that run up to the base of the cup and continue onto its outer surface. Color cream or whitish. This is the key diagnostic feature of the species.

Stem 2-6 cm tall, 3-6 mm thick, cylindrical, slender, hollow inside. Color white, smooth, without distinct ribs (unlike other Helvella). This is the key feature of the species — a smooth stem, not a grooved one.

The flesh is thin, waxy and brittle, whitish. Doesn't change color when cut. Fragile texture, like in all Helvella.

The flesh is thin, waxy and springy, white. Doesn't change color when cut. Springy — it regains its shape after bending, hence the name “elastic.”

No pronounced smell, faintly mushroomy. We don't taste it — the mushroom is potentially toxic when raw.

No noticeable smell. We don't taste it raw — potentially toxic.