There are two types of edible morel that you are likely to find in the UK – the morel (morchella esculenta) or semifree morel (mitrophora semilibera).
The morel (morchella esculenta)
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morel mushroom |
Cap: light brown-grey honeycomb-like, pitted head. Younger caps are darker than mature ones
Stem: pale yellow, with a mealy surface
Inside: when cut in half, the interior of a morel is hallow
Size: they vary in size, and the cap can grow from around 5cm-20cm
Spore print: cream to pale brown
The semifree morel (mitrophora semilibera)
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| semifree morel mushroom |
Cap: dark grey-brown cap, thinner flesh and a free cap rim (not attached)
Stem: a longer, paler stem than the morel
Inside: hallow
Size: smaller than the morel, with a cap growing to between 1cm-4cm
Spore print: cream
Warning
Do be aware that there is one deadly poisonous type of mushroom that can be confused with the morel – it is called the false morel (gyromitra esculenta), or sometimes the beefsteak morel.
Also, morels and semifree morels are (reportedly) delicious, but never eat them raw.
Want to know more: what is a morel mushroom?
So that is how to best identify it easily. Thanks for the post. Really helpful.
ReplyDeletemagic mushroom kits
Easy to identify? yes! However it could be very discouraging to see your note about False Morel. A photo and explanation would be better and more helpful.
ReplyDelete(comment is feedback only not criticism.)
There are five types of 'morel' if you include the 2 lookalikes and Morchella vulgaris, esculenta and importuna
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