fairyhouses - black morel

Morchella elata is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. It is one of three related species commonly known as the black morel. The fruiting bodies of M. elata are known to be consumed by grizzly bears (species Ursus arctos horribilis) in Yellowstone National Park.

Fruiting bodies are hollow, and usually 5 to 10 cm tall, with an ovoid or conical head. The stipe (often swollen at the base) is 4 to 10 cm tall by 1.5 to 5 cm thick. M. elata is characterized by the production of brown or reddish-purple, elongated, cylindrical, slightly pointed globular, longitudinal pits. M. elata may be distinguished from the other black morels by smooth, white stalks in younger specimens, by steel-gray colors in the ridges and pits of the pileus, and by the production of spores larger than those of M. angusticeps.The spore deposit is cream-colored. This is an edible species, although like other morels, some individuals may be allergic.

Morchella elata grows in small groups on soil in forests. It is most well-known in North America and Europe. The variety M. elata var. purpurescens, known only from Scotland, has a purple-colored fruiting body.

The spores of this species are typically colorless, smooth, ellipsoid in shape, and 20—28 by 12—15 µm. Like other species in the genus Morchella, M. elata has operculate asci (i.e., having an ascus opening by an apical lid to discharge spores), and unicellular hyaline ascospores with polar oil droplets.

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