Day 258: I am grateful to my botany partner Joe for finding and GPSing these specimens of Helvella elastica (known commonly as the Flexible Lorchel), a fungus we suspect might be allied with certain mycoheterotrophic plants. When we first observed it in 2017 in another location, I was unable to identify it from my photos. With a mind to the importance of certain features, I was able to key it out after a visit to Joe's coordinates. That said, I have been unable to find any references linking mycoheterotrophic species specifically to the Helvellas, but in fact, very little research has been done in that regard with respect to any plants outside the better-known Orchidaceae. Oh, if only I was fifty years younger and had a team of observers under my direction! A lot can be theorized from field observations of species associations, links which can be used to refine searches for rare mycoheterotrophs. Lab work is great for confirming connections, but first the plants and their associates have to be found. That funny-looking fungus at your feet may contribute to the germination process of a rarity, or to its survival. The more I see, the more convinced I am that fungus makes the world go 'round.
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