The Helvellaceae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

ascomycete 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 defi ...

fungi, the best-known members of which are the elfin saddles of the genus '' Helvella''. Originally erected by

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired ...

in 1823 as ''Elvellacei'', it contained many genera. Several of these, such as ''

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 ...

'' and '' Discina'', have been found to be more distantly related in a

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

study of

ribosomal DNA Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is a DNA sequence that codes for ribosomal RNA. These sequences regulate transcription initiation and amplification, and contain both transcribed and non-transcribed spacer segments. In the human genome there are 5 chromos ...

by mycologist Kerry O'Donnell in 1997, leaving a much smaller core

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

now redefined as Helvellaceae. Instead, this narrowly defined group is most closely related to the true truffles of the

Tuberaceae The Tuberaceae () are a family of mycorrhizal fungi in the order Pezizales, that evolved during or after the first major radiation of Angiosperms in the Jurassic period (140–180 million years ago, Mya). It includes the genus ''Tuber'', which ...

. Although the ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (10th edition, 2008) considered the Helvellaceae to contain six genera and 63 species, genetic analysis has shown that ''

Leucangium ''Leucangium'' is a genus of ascomycete fungi. The genus was circumscribed by French mycologist Lucien Quélet in 1883. Although classified in the Helvellaceae in the past (''e.g.'', in ''Dictionary of the Fungi'', 10th edition, 2008), molecula ...

'', previously classified in this family, is more closely related to the

Morchellaceae The Morchellaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi in the order Pezizales. According to a standard reference work, the family has contained at least 49 species distributed among four genera. However, in 2012, five genera that produce ascoma ...

References

Pezizales Ascomycota families {{Pezizomycetes-stub