Ascomycetes, or Spore-Sac Fungi
Peziza Aukantia = Golden — The Golden Peziza
This species is 2 to 3 inches in diameter, its disc is bright orange color, while its exterior is pale and downy, owing to the presence of short, stout hairs. It is sessile or nearly so, and grows in tufts on the ground near stumps of trees. At first the disc is thin and brittle, with a raised margin, much waved, becoming incised, and finally spreads flat on the ground.
Morchella Esculenta = Food — The Edible or Common Morel
This is 2 to 4 inches high, stem about ½ inch in diameter. The cap is of a dull yellow color, olivaceous, darkening with age to a brownish tinge. It is oval-shaped, with dark hollows.
Helvella Infula = Name of a Woollen Head-Dress — The Cap-like Helvella
This species is named Infula, because it is supposed to resemble in shape the sacred woollen head-dress worn by priests of Rome, by supplicants and victims, tied around the head by a ribbon or bandage, which hangs down on both sides. The stem is surmounted with a lobed cap, with two to four irregularly drooping lobes of reddish or cinnamon-brown color, and is about 3 inches in diameter. The stem is 2 or 3 inches high, usually smooth, but sometimes pitted. We found our specimen in the woods in August.