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The common morel is a highly prized wild mushroom with a honeycomb-pitted cap fused to a hollow stem. In the strict modern sense it is a European species, so the yellow morels you find in the US are usually other species, most often Morchella americana east of the Rocky Mountains, which looks almost the same.

Appearance

Appearance
The pitted, yellow-brown cap is about 0.8–2.8 in (2–7 cm) wide and 0.8–4 in (2–10 cm) tall, with ridges paler than the pits. The white to yellowish stem is fused to the cap, and the whole mushroom is hollow inside.

Look-alikes

Yellow morelMorchella americana

Practically identical by eye. Where it grows is the best clue: east of the Rocky Mountains a yellow morel is most likely this species, while true M. esculenta is European.

Why they get mixed upIt was called Morchella esculenta in North America until 2012.

Landscaping morel (blushing morel)Morchella rufobrunnea

Young caps are dark gray with pale ridges, fading to buff with age, and the surface bruises orange to pinkish when handled. In the US it pops up in landscaping wood chips and other disturbed ground in California and Oregon.

Why they get mixed upOlder, faded ones look like pale yellow morels, and it was once sold in the West as a "winter yellow morel."

False morelGyromitra esculenta

True morels look like a fairly even, pitted sponge; the false morel has a darker, irregular, brain-like wrinkled cap.

Why they get mixed upBoth appear in spring, and the false morel is seriously poisonous.

Where it lives

Typical habitats
  • Forests
  • Orchards
  • Yards and gardens
  • Recently burned areas
Range
In the strict modern sense, a European species that has also been reported from China. American yellow morels are generally treated as look-alike species, not the true M. esculenta.
Preferred conditions
Often found on alkaline, limestone-rich soil, but it also grows in acidic soil.

Life cycle

Reproduction
Spores form inside the pits of the cap.

Cautions

Cautions
Raw morels contain a substance that can upset the stomach, so they should always be cooked. Old, decaying morels may be poisonous.

Name and classification

About the name
For a long time, yellow morels across North America and Europe all went by this name. DNA studies in the 2010s showed several species were involved, and in 2014 the name was limited to one European species. The North American yellow morel is now Morchella americana (briefly called M. esculentoides).

Culture and stories

Culture and stories
  • Minnesota made the morel its state mushroom—the first state mushroom of any US state. The designation used the name's older, broader meaning, which covered American yellow morels.
  • Linnaeus first described it in 1753 as Phallus esculentus; esculenta means "edible."

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Common Morel (Morchella esculenta) — identification, habitat & look-alikes | Moeyo