Morchella

For other uses, see Morchella (disambiguation).

Morel
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Subdivision:	Pezizomycotina
Class:	Pezizomycetes
Order:	Pezizales
Family:	Morchellaceae
Genus:	Morchella
Species
Morchella angusticeps Morchella conica Morchella costata Morchella crassipes Morchella elata Morchella esculenta Morchella gigas Morchella semilibera Morchella spongiola Morchella spongiola var. dunensis Morchella vulgaris Morchella sp. MA4SSI73 Morchella sp. UC 1475091

The morel (Morchella) is a genus of edible cup fungi. They produce highly porous ascocarps, prized by gourmet cooks, particularly for French cuisine.

Location of morels

The morel grows abundantly in the two and sometimes three years immediately following a forest fire, but where fire suppression is practiced, may grow regularly though in small amount in the same spot year after year. The Finnish name, huhtasieni, refers to huhta, area cleared for agriculture by slash and burn method. These spots may be jealously guarded by mushroom pickers, as the mushrooms represent a cash crop. They may grow near certain types of trees (specifically the ash tree) in symbiotic relationship with them, although this is not proven. (There is some evidence that disturbance-following morels may be different species than those growing in relatively undisturbed sites, but genetic confirmation has not yet been accomplished.) Commercial pickers and buyers in North America will follow forest fires to gather morels. Morels have not yet been successfully farmed on a large scale, and the commercial morel industry is based on harvest of wild mushrooms. Muscoda, Wisconsin is the self-styled Morel Mushroom Capital of Wisconsin.

Different types of mushrooms

Morille "noire" Morchella conica

The best known morel is the Morchella deliciosa, which is commonly known as simply "morel." Other common names for morels include Merkel, and Sponge Mushroom. When gathering morels, care must be taken to distinguish them from the poisonous false morel (Gyromitra esculenta and others). However, morels are fairly distinctive in appearance. Other types include Morchella esculenta, M. elata, M. semilibera, and M. vulgaris. Mushroom hunters will commonly refer to them by their color, i.e., gray, yellow, black, etc., as the species are very similar in appearance and vary considerably within species and age of individual mushroom.

See also

• Mushroom hunting

External links

• The Great Morel
• Wild Harvest
• MushroomExpert.com's Morel section
• Michigan Morels information and discussion

Sources

• Harvesting Morels After Wildfire in Alaska. Wurtz et al. USDA Forest Service Research Note PNW-RN-546, February 2005