These are small family of ascomycete fungi best known for the false morels. They produce irregular, lobed, or saddle‑shaped apothecia, often brown to reddish‑brown, with a wrinkled or convoluted hymenium. Stipes are typically stout and chambered. Microscopically, they have large, ellipsoid to fusoid spores, often with oil droplets, and ascus tips lacking a true operculum. Ecologically they are saprobic, fruiting in spring to early winter on soil, forest litter, or burnt ground.