Verpa conica

Species typical of river or stream banks at the entrance to woodlands, with a total height of 4 to 12 cm, with a campanulate cap 1.5 to 4 cm high, irregularly wrinkled, cerebriform, reddish-brown, with a cylindrical, hollow ochraceous stipe, fragile and brittle consistency, and a mild (insipid) taste.

Medullary excipulum of textura intricata, formed by filamentous, cylindrical, hyaline, thin-walled hyphae, densely intermixed, 5 to 12 µm wide, septate and often with slight constrictions at the septa.

Ectal excipulum with hyphae of the outer part cylindrical to elongated, 6 to 12 µm wide, septate, hyaline or with only a slight yellowish-brown pigment inside.

Asci cylindrical, eight-spored (octosporic), operculate, 250 to 340 µm long by 18 to 25 µm wide, with uniseriate spore arrangement (in a single row one behind the other), and inamyloid in Melzer's reagent.

Paraphyses filiform, hyaline, branched at the base, 5 to 8 µm wide, with apical cell swellings 6 to 11 µm wide, and not projecting above the level of the asci.

Ascospores ellipsoidal, smooth, hyaline, moderately thick-walled, 20 to 26 µm long by 12 to 16 µm wide, containing oil drops (guttules) inside.

Herbarium material available: JTP2456/25.