Black Mushroom - Helvella dryophila

 

Helvella dryophila is also called a black saddle mushroom. This species seems to favor rich soil and burnt ground, against which as a background it is not at all conspicuous and so is easily missed.  I found this unusual mushroom at the base of a large oak tree about 50' from the steps on the Marvin Road side of the trail. This oak-loving fungus is found on the west coast of North America in winter. They have thick, convoluted, and sometimes shiny or slick rounded caps. The broad, hollow, pale-gray stems are fluted and scooped out. It is about 3" tall and hard to see.
Helvella is an ancient term for an aromatic herb.  The specific epithet lacunosa means 'having holes' and is a reference to elongated oval troughs in the surface of the fluted stems of these woodland fungi.