Gyromitra esculenta

The mushroom I tripped and fell in love over. I didn't actually trip over it (it's a chonker, I very well could have) but it was the first mushroom of the year I saw sprout up when I lived in the Adirondacks. Once the snow melted, within a week, everything that had been black and white in winter, transformed into breathing browns and greens. Mosses and grasses and wildflowers were bursting out of the ground, accompanied by this curious fellow who got many confused stares. I present to you, Gyromitra esculenta, the Brain Mushroom.

Let's breakdown its name! You know the squiggly ridges in a brain? Each ridge is known as a "gyrus" which comes from the Greek gyros "round". Mitra in Greek means "headband", so we know this name is referring to a mushroom that has rounded bands about its head. The second part of this inedible mushroom's species name esculenta means "edible". What ho?! There's a small scandal here.

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These both belong to the Morel family of mushrooms. On the left is our guy, G. esculenta, and on his right is the golden child everyone prefers, Morchella esculenta (did you catch that?? They have the same species name!). This Golden Morel is culinarily acclaimed as a delicious mushroom and can often be found in old apple orchards which just adds to its image. Though related, the Brain Mushroom is classified as a "false morel" because it lacks the central cavity that distinguishes true morels.

Now, G. esculenta is a popular delicacy in Scandanavia, Eastern Europe, and around the Great Lakes in America. But across the world, countries have reported it causes indigestion, liver failure, and possibly death. How could the same mushroom have such divergent outcomes? Mushrooms can have different toxicity depending on where they grow! For example, there is some evidence that G. esculenta that grows at higher altitudes, or west of the Rockies, have smaller concentrations of its poison gyromitrin [1]. Those that prepare it as a dish are sure to dry and boil the mushroom to remove its toxins, as is customary for many species of edible and hallucinogenic mushrooms. 

By Giacomo Bresadola

My first encounter with these bad boys

Well there you have it folks! The Brain Mushroom. I'll leave you with one last story: I used to point out this mushroom to folks that came to the trail I was posted up at, and they'd squint and go, "Is that bear shit?" Nope, just some Gyromitra esculenta :D 

[1]    Benjamin, Denis R. (1995). Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas—a handbook for naturalists, mycologists and physicians. New York: WH Freeman.