The Boyne City Morel Festival, in the third week in May, is the biggest in Michigan. Morels are the fruiting body of a fungus that lives in the soil. When the soil temperature and moisture conditions are right the fungus produces morels, containing the spores of the fungus. The wind carries the spores to new habitats, where they germinate and produce a new individual of the morel fungus. The pitted, spongy cap on the white stem in the picture contains the spores.
Some caps are black, gray or even white depending on the species of morel fungus.
True morels are the fruiting body of a species of fungus in the genus Morchella , in the family Morchellaceae. The ascus, a special cell containing the spores, is the common feature of all ascomycetes. Every identified organism in the world has one scientific name, in Latin, but may have many common names. Morchella esculenta is known as the Common Morel, but it is just as difficult or easy to find as any other species, and delicious. Another common name for this morel is the Sponge Mushroom.