Morchella Dill. ex Pers.
(morels)

Morels are fairly common in Spring in both broadleaf and conifer woodland, especially on chalk or limestone. Sometimes they’re associated with old fire sites. In recent years they have increasingly appeared on the woodchip mulch used as weed suppressant in municipal plantings.

The species have been much confused and are not yet satisfactorily worked out, so for recording purposes it’s necessary to relate the finds to the reference used to make the identification.

There are three main groups:

cap margin free from the stem, ie M. semilibera

yellowish-brown round capped forms, ie M. esculenta s.l.

blackish brown, parabolic to conical-headed forms with vertical ribs, ie M. elata s.l.

M. elata seems to have two forms (but you can divide it different ways depending on which characters you regard as significant and which are just variability):

stipe narrower than cap which is parabolic to conical, eg M. conica var deliciosa sensu B&K (parabolic cap), M. elata sensu Phillips (conical cap)

stipe as wide as cap which is strictly conical, eg M. elata sensu B&K. This is a common form on woodchip mulch.

Microscopic characters are of little help and DNA has not yielded any useful results. The species often grow together, esp. M. elata s.l.