Introduction The Discinaceae demonstrates that family naming rules do not follow the same rules as genera naming rules. When the genus Discina temporarily went away (in the opinion of many people), the family name still remained Discinaceae because that was the original name for the family. A genus going away does not alter the family name. But now Discina is back. Controversially, Gyromitra has been split into 10 genera (Discina, Gyromitra, Hydnotrya, Maublancomyces, Neogyromitra, Paragyromitra, Piscidiscina, Pseudodiscina, Pseudorhizina, and Pseudoverpa). It is controversial because to figure out what genus you have, you not only have to look at the spores, but sometimes you have to look at the ornamentation on the fully mature spores that have already been ejected. To some, this seems too subtle a way to distinguish genera. The other choice was to treat them all as Hydnotrya (the oldest name in the clade), but that is also controversial not only because the name Gyromitra would go away (and it is a well established name) but because the genus would then contain false morels, cups, and truffles as well as both toxic and nontoxic species, something too broad for a traditional genus. But even splitting it does not separate the different forms cleanly. Keeping the name Gyromitra would require a special vote and then all Hydnotrya would become Gyromitra too. So most are following the split. Alden Dirks has been instrumental in sorting out our local Gyromitra mysteries. He has confirmed that Gyromitra s.s., the Gyromitra esculenta group, does contain the toxin gyromitrin, which is metabolized by your body into rocket fuel (monomethylhydrazine). However, Paragyromitra, the Gyromitra infula group, does not appear to contain this toxin. That group has long been thought to also be toxic. Most alarmingly, Piscidiscina, the Gyromitra leucoxantha group of cup fungi, does contain gyromitrin. So those who eat Discina, the Gyromitra ancilis group, thinking that its lookalikes are all similarly non-toxic should be aware of this. abundant common uncommon rare - colour codes match my Pictorial Key and are my opinions and probably reflect my bias of living in W WA. Rare species may be locally common in certain places at certain times.

False Morels - click to expand These are mostly in a clade together with the Hydnotrya truffles, except for Maublancomyces (Gyromitra montana), which lives in the clade of cups. Some (Gyromitra s.s.) in the G. esculenta group contains the toxin gyromitrin. Interestingly, Paragyromitra, which is the G. infula group, does not appear to. Species mentioned: Gyromitra esculenta, splendida, venenata. Maublancomyces montanus. Paragyromitra ambigua, infula, columbiana. Pseudorhizina californica, sphaerospora. Pseudoverpa anthracobia.   Brain-like cap Gyromitra sp. 'splendida-PNW01' (Gyromitra esculenta EU misapplied) - with a dark orange-brown brain-like head and a somewhat thin pale orange-brown stem. It can also be found in a pale almost albino form. Spring. It is potentially fatal, as it contains gyromitrin. DNA studies show that our abundant species is closer to Gyromitra splendida EU than it is to G. esculenta. Our local west coast collections may represent a sub-species of G. splendida (so the label PNW01 has been used for it). The differences are quite subtle. It is occasionally found in albino form. Gyromitra venenata China - also in spring, also toxic, and difficult to differentiate from G. splendida. In fact, it took DNA sequencing to notice that this species occurs here too, but not nearly as often. Pseudoverpa anthracobia EU - this rare lookalike was recently discovered through DNA in OR in spring. It is now in its own genus, and therefore lacks the toxin gyromitin. It is usually less folded than the previous two species, although it can look very similar. Our ITS is a few bp different than the type sequence. Maublancomyces montanus WY - has a medium orange-brown brain-like head and a thicker stem. Also found in spring. Pseudorhizina sp. 'californica-PNW01' (Pseudorhizina californica CA misapplied) - has a fluted stem with pinkish/purplish tones. So far all PNW collections have slightly different ITS than the CA type sequence and may represent a distinct species. We should also look out for the real Gyromitra californica CA as well as the east coast species Gyromitra sphaerospora NY to see if they might occur here. The latter's DNA was found in a soil sample in western Canada. Gyromitra sp. 'splendida-PNW01' © Eric Chandler,     G. venenata © Drew Henderson,     Pseudoverpa anthracobia © Bee Marcotte     Maublancomyces montana © iNaturalist user g2bythesea,     Pseudorhizina. sp. 'californica-PNW01'  © Danka Michalik   Saddle-like cap Paragyromitra infula EU - with a roughly saddle-shaped cap (with 2 prominent prongs), like many Helvella, but beefier and more irregularly shaped. Paragyromitra ambigua EU (=Gyromitra columbiana BC) - difficult to differentiate - even microscopically it has been confused with G. infula. Supposedly it is smaller and darker with some violaceous tones, but that doesn't always bear out. The type sequence of G. columbiana matches the older G. ambigua. Paragyromitra sp. 'PNW01' (formerly Gyromitra sp. 'ambigua-PNW06') - an unnamed third species in the group, it is not yet known how to differentiate it. It is not uncommon in CA, but only found once so far in the PNW (in WA). Paragyromitra infula © Eric Chandler,     P. ambigua © Ed Barge,     P. sp. 'PNW01' © Mandy Hackney

Cups - click to expand These are all in one tribe, along with the false morel Maublancomyces (Gyromitra montana). Piscidiscina (the Gyromitra leucoxantha group) contains the toxin gyromitrin, a cautionary tale for those who eat the lookalike Discina (Gyromitra ancilis group). They have a rudimentary stem at best. The cups most likely to be confused with these are Disciotis and Rhizina, and perhaps Dissingia (Helvella). Species mentioned: Discina ancilis, mcknightii, perlata. Maublancomyces larryi, olympianus. Piscidiscina leucoxantha, persicula. Pseudodiscina melaleucoides.   In practice, these are difficult to distinguish from one another without a scope. Piscidiscina persicula WA (Piscidiscina leucoxantha EU misapplied?) - Piscidisinca are the toxic species, with fishtail apiculi on the mature spores. Our local species is smallish (<5 cm across) and has pinkish buff tones. We have the holotype sequence. P. leucoxantha has been reported from the PNW. It is larger (<10 cm across) and has yellowish tones. We have the holotype sequence, but so far no matching local collections. Do we have it here too? Piscidiscina persicula © Michael Beug Discina mcknightii Eastern Europe (Discina ancilis EU misapplied, Discina perlata EU misapplied) - widespread and abundant. Species of Discina might be more likely to be dark brown and have more wrinkles. The mature spores have pointed apiculi. Discina sp. 'CA01' (formerly Gyromitra sp. 'PNW04') - from CA and OR. Discina sp. 'CA02' (formerly Gyromitra sp. 'PNW03') - from CA and ID. Discina sp. 'WA01' (formerly Gyromitra sp. 'ancilis-PNW02') - from WA. Discina sp. 'OR01' - from OR. Discina sp. 'ID01' - from ID. Discina persicula © Ed Barge Maublancomyces olympianus WA - Maublancomyces are sometimes a brighter brown than Discina, like the toxic Piscidiscina. The mature spores have blunt apiculi. Maublancomyces sp. 'olympianus-PNW01' (formerly Gyromitra sp. 'olympiana-PNW09')  - from CA and ID. Maublancomyces larryi UT - Maublancomyces sp. 'olympianus-PNW09' © Joe Matanzas Pseudodiscina melaleucoides NA - sometimes duller brown than Discina or Maublancomyces, the mature spores lack apiculi. Pseudodiscina melaleucoides © Michael Beug

Truffles - click to expand The trufflized Gyromitra are all in one clade, the genus Hydnotrya for those who split Gyromitra. They are chambered with relatively smooth orange-brown exteriors, sometimes found inside rotten wood. Species mentioned: Hydnotria cerebriformis, cubispora, inordinata, michaelis, subnix, tulasnei, variiformis.   It is beyond the scope of this page to help you key out your Hydnotrya. Hydnotrya sp. 'cubispora-PNW03' - turning dark orange-brown when mature. H. cubispora is from MI but matching DNA of collections identified as this has not been found yet in ENA, so this may not be the real thing. Hydnotrya cerebriformis CA - reported from the PNW but without any sequenced collections yet Hydnotrya michaelis EU - reported from the PNW but without any sequenced collections yet Hydnotrya inordinata OR - no DNA yet Hydnotrya subnix WA - no DNA yet Hydnotrya tulasnei UK - reported from the PNW, no DNA yet Hydnotrya variiformis CA - reported from the PNW, no DNA yet Hydnotrya sp. 'CA01' - initially pale turning orange to burgundy when mature. Hydnotrya sp. 'OR01' - only known from one immature truffle that was not chambered and bright red under the peridium. Hydnotrya sp. 'OR02' - Hydnotrya sp. 'OR03' - with a bright layer of burgundy under the peridium. Hydnotrya sp. 'OR04' - dark orange brown to burgundy when mature Hydnotrya sp. 'OR05' - Hydnotrya sp. 'PNW01' - pale to bright orange until mature Hydnotrya sp. 'PNW02' - similar and closely related Hydnotrya sp. 'PNW01' and sp. 'OR05' © Heather Dawson

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