Morel

Quick facts

Scientific name

Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers. (1794)

Family

Morchellaceae

Edibility

Edible with caution

Season

Mar–May

Usual altitude

241–1,387 m

Under which trees

Riverside woodland, Aspen, Birch, London plane, Oak

Dangerous look-alike

False morel · Gyromitra esculenta

IUCN Red List

Not evaluated (NE)

How to recognise it

Cap

Oval head 4–10 cm, ochre to brown, pitted like a honeycomb

Gills, pores or pits

Broad, irregular pits between paler ridges; no gills

Stem

Whitish, granular, hollow, fused to the base of the head

Flesh when cut

Whitish, brittle; inside, one single hollow from top to bottom

Spore print

Cream to pale ochre

Where it grows

Riverbank gravel and gallery woodland, poplar and ash groves, old orchards, and ground that was disturbed or burnt the previous year — what announces it is soil disturbance rather than any one tree. It prefers limestone. March to May, starting some weeks earlier in the south and in low valleys.

Confused with

• False morelGyromitra esculentadangerous

  Cap

  Reddish to dark brown, 5–15 cm, folded like a brain

  Gills, pores or pits

  No pits: irregular folds and convolutions, like a brain

  Stem

  Short and thick, whitish, furrowed, with irregular cavities inside

  Flesh when cut

  Whitish, brittle; inside, divided into irregular chambers

  Spore print

  Whitish to pale buff

  Where and when

  Pine and other conifers, sandy soil; spring

  How to tell them apart: Cut it lengthways: inside there are chambers, not one hollow, and the head has brain-like folds instead of pits.

  Deadly, in spite of its scientific name. The cap has no pits but folds and convolutions like a brain, reddish-brown, and cut open it is divided into irregular chambers rather than one hollow space. Its toxins survive cooking in part and accumulate in the body.

• Early false morelVerpa bohemicadangerous

  Cap

  Thimble 2–4 cm, yellowish to dark brown, with lengthwise folds

  Gills, pores or pits

  Lengthwise folds rather than pits; the cap edge hangs free

  Stem

  Long, cream, granular; the cap is attached only at the very top

  Flesh when cut

  Whitish, brittle; the stem stuffed with cottony fibres

  Spore print

  Yellowish

  Where and when

  Riverside woods, under poplar and willow; early spring

  How to tell them apart: Cut it lengthways: the cap hangs free, joined only at the top, and the stem holds cotton; a morel is fused and hollow.

  It appears earlier, in the same riverside woods. Its cap hangs free, attached to the stem only at the very top like a thimble on a stick, and its folds run lengthways instead of forming pits. It causes digestive upset and problems with coordination.

When it has been found

Finds recorded in Spain, by month: 626 in all, from GBIF. They show when it fruits, and also when people go looking.

Where it has been found

Each square is an area of about 20 km with recorded finds; the darker, the more finds. It does not pinpoint patches: for where it is coming up now, see the forecast map.

Where it comes up

Areas where this species is scoring highest right now.

• Ripollés ComarcasVery weak · peak moderate
• Osona ComarcasVery weak · peak weak
• Berguedà ComarcasVery weak · peak weak
• Moianès ComarcasVery weak · peak weak
• Garrotxa ComarcasVery weak · peak weak
• Lluçanès ComarcasVery weak · peak weak
• Alta Ribagorza ComarcasVery weak · peak very weak
• Montseny massif MassifsVery weak · peak very weak

Sources

• GBIF: name, authorship and family
• GBIF: finds recorded in Spain
• IUCN Red List: threat category

The usual altitude and the trees come from our own fit of the model to those finds and to the Spanish Forest Map (Mapa Forestal de España).