Spores

Micro. Ectal excipulum is made from a palissade of claviform hyphae

La bibliographie indique toutefois une taille plus petite pour les spores (18-20,5 x11-12,5 µm).Mais ce n'est qu'une remarque car je ne suis pas à même d'en juger, à moins que la dite variété latispora possède d'aussi grosses spores.
Amitiés
Alain

This shape represents (for me) typically Helvella elastica. H. latispora is often selliform and has a more brownish colour ("café au lait" in French). But I didn't find this species with such a spore size (max. 22 µm). Maybe a form macrospora !
Very interesting.

Many thanks Alain and Nicolas.
Enrique

As Nicolas says, the shape is typical for Helvella elastica. If you have the possibility to return in the locality, you will see that the young ascomata have a deflexed apothecium from the beginning. In H. latispora (at least, sensu Häffner) the young specimens are somewhat cupulate.
Surely the spores are larger than normally seen. I remember only une collection, consisting in a single ascoma, from southern Italy (Calabria) in a similar habitat, with so large spores; I considered that the volume of the spores in that collection was almost double than normal. In your specimens, the same as in mine, the width of the spores is very large, but the spore's shape does not fit with Boudier's drawings for Helvella latispora.
If you will make more abundant collections, it will be very interesting an accurate study to search for some other differences from the typical H. elastica.

Many thanks Mario.
Enrique

Just in case: How many spores in an ascus, in your specimens?

The asci are 8-spored, Luc
Enrique

8 spores in mine also.