Morchella elata - Black Morel

Taxonomy

Class: Pezizomycetes

Order: Pezizales

Family: Morchellaceae

Morchella elata, the Black Morel, fruits from March to June and is a popular edible fungus, although less well known than the Common Morel, Morchella esculenta. Found in woods and forests, particularly beside woodland tracks, this swarthy morels often fruit in groups. In gardens and parks where bark mulch has been laid to reduce the need for weeding, Black Morels sometimes spring up in vast swathes, but their appearance one spring is no guarantee of morels in future years.

There is a danger of confusing morels with the deadly poisonous Gyromitra esculenta.

Identification guide

	Cap 3 to 8cm in diameter and 6 to 8cm tall; stem 1 to 3cm diameter and 4 to 10cm tall, 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. Stem Smooth at the top but usually grooved near the base, the stipe has just one hollow chamber.
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	Morchella esculenta has a paler pitted cap and is usually less pointed. 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.