The first report of Helvella crispa (Ascomycota, Pezizales), a rare fungal species in Sri Lanka

Two striking, stipitate fruiting bodies of a fungus were found in Hantana area, bordering the Dunumadalawa Forest Reserve within the Kandy District (Central Province) of Sri Lanka. The apothecium was capitate, cap whitish and irregularly saddle-shaped; the stipe simple, shallowly ribbed, tapering and internally solid. The fruiting bodies were identified, using morphological characteristics, as Helvella crispa belonging to the family Helvellaceae, Order Pezizales and Phylum Ascomycota. This is the first record of H. crispa or the genus Helvella in Sri Lanka. The genus could also be rather rare in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) as it has not been encountered over 230 year-long history of mycological work in the country.