Morchella esculenta

Description	The hollow conical or egg-shaped cap of this popular edible species is deeply pitted, rather like an irregular honeycomb. Within the pits the surface varies from pale brown to grey and darkens with age. Smooth at the top but usually grooved near the base, the stipe has just one hollow chamber. The specimen illustrated here is most probably Morchella elata, a very closely related species with a more pointed cap than Morchella esculenta and with the cap pits tending to align in vertical rows. Not all experts treat the many varieties of morels as separate species, and for the amateur enthusiast's purposes they may as well be treated as one. They are all good edible fungi.
Dimensions	Cap 3 to 8 cm in diameter and 6 to 8 cm tall; stem 1 to 3 cm diameter and 4 to 10 cm tall.
Spore print	Pale cream.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	On rich, well-drained soil under trees; often beneath hedges and on disturbed soil at the edge of a garden.
Season	April and May.
Occurrence	Infrequent.
Similar species	Gyromitra esculenta has a red-brown, brain-like cap and a stipe that is hollowed into several chambers. Helvella crispa has a fluted, broader stem with external grooves and internal hollow channels.