''Gyromitra gigas'', commonly known as the giants false morel, snow morel, snow false morel, calf brain, or bull nose, is a

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

and a member of the

Ascomycota Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...

. ''G. gigas'' is found in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It is referred to as one of the

false morel The name false morel is given to several species of mushroom which bear a resemblance to the highly regarded true morels of the genus '' Morchella''. Like ''Morchella'', false morels are members of the Pezizales, but within that group represent ...

s, due to its similar appearance and occurrence in the spring and early summer in similar habitats to true morels (''

Morchella ''Morchella'', the true morels, is a genus of edible ascomycota, sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler Cup fungus, cup fungi in the order Pezizales (division (mycology), division Ascomycota). These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb ...

'' ssp.). It contains small quantities of

hydrazines Hydrazines (R2N−NR2) are a class of chemical compounds with two nitrogen atoms linked via a covalent bond and which carry from one up to four alkyl or aryl substituents. Hydrazines can be considered as derivatives of the inorganic hydrazine (H ...

, its content in gyromitrin was scientifically assess by Viernstein et al. otanical identification 1980and resulted of about 1mg per kg of fresh mushroom (roughly 1500 fold less compared to esculenta). No casualties have been ascribed to its consumption, parboiling is still highly recommended. Some guides have listed it as being edible if properly prepared. However, consumption is not recommended due to variability and similarity to other more toxic species of ''

Gyromitra ''Gyromitra'' () is a genus of about 18 species of ascomycete fungi. They are a false morel - a frequently toxic mushroom that can be mistaken for edible mushrooms of the genus ''Morchella'' (morels). Taxonomy The name ''Gyromitra'' comes from ...

''. This fungus has been banned for sale in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

since 1991 due to potential toxicity, the effects of which would cause a fairly rare fatal neurodegenerative disease,

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

(ALS). A similar and possibly directly related species, ''Gyromitra montana'', occurs in North America; the main difference between the two is the smaller spores ''G. gigas'' is reported to have. ''G. montana'' is reportedly a good edible mushroom if cooked thoroughly and eaten in small quantities.

Taxonomy

The species was first described scientifically by

Julius Vincenz von Krombholz Julius Vincenz von Krombholz (19 December 1782 – 1 November 1843) was a physician and mycologist born in Oberpolitz (today Horní Police, Czech Republic), northern Bohemia. He studied medicine at the University of Prague, receiving his doctora ...

as ''Helvella gigas''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyromitra Gigas Discinaceae Fungi described in 1834 Fungi of Europe Snowbank fungi

Taxonomy

See also

References