About this fungus
Felt Saddle Fungus is a fungus in the Helvellaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A small grey-brown cup held on a thin grey stem. The outer face of the cup and the stem are covered in tiny pale hairs, giving the mushroom the granular, felted look behind its common name.
What to check
Look for a cup about 1 to 6 cm across with a smooth darker inner surface and a paler outer surface covered in fine granules or hairs. The stem is very slender, grey-brown, solid and finely hairy rather than deeply ribbed, with no ring or volva. Mature spindle-shaped spores are an important microscopic check.
Variation
Young mushrooms form regular cups. Older cups can widen into discs, become laterally compressed or turn back at the edge. Colours range from tan and grey-brown to darker brown, sometimes with an olive-grey cast.
Lookalikes
Helvella fibrosa and other small hairy-stemmed cup fungi can be extremely similar in the field. Helvella elastica usually has a two-lobed saddle rather than a cup and a smoother white stem. Dark members of the Helvella lacunosa group have a more contorted saddle and a thicker, deeply grooved stem. Microscopy, and sometimes DNA evidence, may be needed for species-level confidence.
Habitat and range
Found singly or in small groups on soil, moss or very decayed wood in broadleaved, coniferous and mixed woodland, and occasionally in damp grass. Its exact nutritional relationship is not fully settled.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
Holger Krisp / CC BY 3.0Species to compare
Similar mushrooms to compare against: