| Helvellaceae | |
|---|---|
| Helvella crispa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Phylum: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Pezizomycetes |
| Order: | Pezizales |
| Family: | Helvellaceae Fr. |
| Type genus | |
| Helvella L. |
|
| Genera | |
The Helvellaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi, the best known members of which are the elfin saddles of the genus Helvella. Originally erected by Elias Magnus Fries in 1823 as Elvellacei, it contained many genera. Several of these, such as Gyromitra and Discina, have been found to be more distantly related in a molecular study of ribosomal DNA by mycologist Kerry O'Donnell in 1997, leaving a much smaller core clade now redefined as Helvellaceae. Instead, this narrowly defined group is most closely related to the true truffles of the Tuberaceae.[1] According to the Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008), the family contains six genera and 63 species.[2]