Gyromitra Infula, Possibly

Day 18: The subject of this article is possibly Gyromitra infula. I say "possibly" not because of my recent misidentification of another 'shroom, but because of this qualifier in Steve Trudell's field guide: "Gyromitra infula and G. ambigua typically occur in late summer and fall with conifers and hardwoods on soil and wood. Although G. ambigua normally as stronger purple tones on the stipe base and somewhat darker caps, determining which of these species you have usually requires checking spore size (mostly 20-23 microns long in G. infula and 22-30 microns long in G. ambigua) and, even then, the answer might not be clear." He goes on to note that "both species are very poisonous." All things considered, I will err on the side of caution, definitely not collecting them for the table and holding out on proposing a solid identification. Of an impressive size (that's Oxalis at the base, not clover), the species presents 6-7" of plain ugly, and one 50' diameter circle in a nearby sunfleck forest environment held a dozen or more convoluted, roughly saddle-shaped caps in shades of purplish-tan and brown. I could imagine that someone stumbling across them in a Hallowe'en frame of mind might liken them to the hands of corpses upthrust from the forest floor. Whodathunk it? My very own neighbourhood zombie apocalypse!