Gyromitra esculenta - False Morel

Taxonomy

Class: Pezizomycetes

Order: Pezizales

Family: Pyronemataceae

Gyromitra esculenta, commonly called the False Morel or the Turban Fungus, is deadly poisonous. Unfortunately it is sometimes mistakenly collected by people looking for Morels (Morchella esculenta). Most worrying is the specific epithet, because esculenta means 'good to eat', and in some Eastern European countries this morel imposter has long been treated as an esculent; fortunately nowadays the risks are becoming more widely understood as people who forage for fungi get 'connected'.

Identification guide

Description	The red-brown cap is irregularly lobed, rather like a brain, and is usually broader than it is tall. Rounded margins to the contortions result in irregular hollow chambers inside the cap. The stipe is short, creamy-white and fragile. Inside the stipe are several irregular tube-like hollow.
Dimensions	Cap 5 to 15cm across; 4 to 8cm tall; stipe 2 to 3cm across and 2 to 5cm tall.
Spore print	Cream.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	In coniferous woodland; rare in the lowlands but more common in mountainous regions.
Season	Spring and early summer.
Occurrence	Infrequent.
Similar species	Morchella esculenta, the true Morel, has a deeply pitted cap and a single hollow chamber; its stipe is usually longer than that of Gyromitra esculenta. Helvella crispa has a creamy-white contorted saddle-shaped cap and a stipe with longitudinal tube-like hollows.