Morchella elata

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***Morchella elata*** is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. It is one of many related species commonly known as **black morels**, and until 2012 the name *M. elata* was broadly applied to black morels throughout the globe. Like most members of the genus, *M. elata* is a popular edible fungus and is sought by many mushroom hunters.

## Taxonomy and phylogeny

The fruit bodies of *Morchella* species, including *M. elata*, are highly polymorphic in appearance, exhibiting variations in shape, color and size; this has contributed to uncertainties regarding taxonomy. Discriminating between the various species is complicated by uncertainty regarding which species are truly biologically distinct. Mushroom hunters refer to them by their color as the species are very similar in appearance and vary considerably within species and age of individual.

Early phylogenetic analyses supported the hypothesis that the genus comprises only a few species with considerable phenotypic variation. More recent DNA work, however, has revealed more than a dozen distinct groups of morels in North America, and over 60 worldwide. An extensive DNA study showed three discrete clades, or genetic groups, consisting of the black morels (*Morchella elata* and others), the yellow morels (*Morchella esculenta* and others), and the white morels (*Morchella rufobrunnea* and *Morchella anatolica*). Species within the Elata clade (also referred to as Distantes), are characterised by the gradual darkening of their sterile ridges upon maturity, with the exception of *Morchella tridentina* (=*Morchella frustrata*), which has persistently pale ridges. Within the black and yellow clades, there are dozens of individual species, many endemic to individual continents or regions. This species-rich view is supported by studies in North America, Western Europe, Turkey, Israel, the Himalayas, and China.

The scientific name *Morchella elata* was proposed by Elias Magnus Fries from Europe in 1822. DNA analysis in 2011 has shown North American black morels to be largely distinct from European species, therefore restricting the use of the *M. elata* name to Europe. In 2012, Kuo et al. provided names for many of the North American black morels that may have been referred to as *M. elata* in the past. However, in a subsequent study by Richard et al. (2014) proposing a unified taxonomy for the genus, it is suggested that Fries' original description of *Morchella elata* may correspond to phylogenetic lineage *Mel*-10, which has been since described from North America as *Morchella importuna*, but later shown to have a widespread transcontinental distribution.

The variety *M. elata* var. *purpurescens*, characterised by the purple- or pink-colored tinges of its ascocarps, is now considered to belong to a phylogenetically distinct lineage (Richard et al. 2014).

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**Eastern North America**

* *M. angusticeps*
* *M. septentrionalis*

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**Western North America**

* *M. brunnea*
* *M. capitata*
* *M. importuna*
* *M. septimelata*

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* *M. sextelata*
* *M. snyderi*
* *M. tomentosa*

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## Description

 File:Morelasci.jpg
*Morchella elata* has operculate asci (i.e., asci opening by an apical lid to discharge the spores). It further has unicellular hyaline ascospores with polar oil droplets.

Despite the fact that many interpretations of *M. elata* exist throughout the years, most authors agree that Fries' original concept refers to a species with dark, conical ascocarps and more or less parallel vertical ridges, with horizontal interconnecting ridges arranged in a "ladderlike" pattern.

This is an edible species, although like other morels, some individuals may be allergic to it.

## Ecology & Distribution

 File:Μορχέλα στην Πάρνηθα.jpg
*Morchella elata* fruits during spring on soil. Fries' original description, which was based on a collection from a fir wood in Sweden, reported it as rare: "*In silvis abiegnis, praecipue locis humidis adustis, raro*". However, since the true identity of *M. elata* is not yet fully clarified, its exact ecological preferences and distribution remain unclear.

## Toxicity

Morels contain small amounts of hydrazine toxins or an unknown toxin that are destroyed through cooking, (the presence of hydrazine is controversial since there are no primary references of hydrazine having been detected in the species), so morel mushrooms should never be eaten raw. It has been reported that even cooked morels can sometimes cause mild intoxication symptoms when consumed with alcohol.

When eating this mushroom for the first time it is wise to consume a small amount to minimize any allergic reaction. Morels for consumption must be clean and free of decay.

## See also

* False morel
* Cryptic species complex

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `odon11`
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Kuo2012`
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `masa10`
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Ref_f`
5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Ref_g`
6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `mdcp`
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `du12`
8. ↑ Loizides, Michael; Alvarado, Pablo; Clowez, Philippe; Moreau, Pierre-Arhtur; de la Osa, Luis Romero; Palazón, Antonio (14 March 2015). "Morchella tridentina, M. rufobrunnea, and M. kakiicolor: a study of three poorly known Mediterranean morels, with nomenclatural updates in section Distantes". Mycol Progress. Template:Doi.
9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `kell05`
10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `task10`
11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `taskin12`
12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `mas09`
13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `kan10`
14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Fries1822`
15. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `rogers`
16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `pl98`
17. ↑ Boudier E (1897) Révision analytique des morilles de France. Bull. Soc. Mycol. Fr. 13 : 130-150.
18. ↑ Boudier E (1909) Icones mycologicae ou iconographie des champignons de France principalement discomycètes avec texte descriptif. Tome II, pl. 194–421. Librairie des Sciences Naturelles, Paris
19. ↑ Breitenbach J, Kränzlin F (1984) Fungi of Switzerland, Volume 1: Ascomycetes. Verlag Mykologia, Luzern, Switzerland
20. ↑ Clowez P (2010) Les morilles: Une nouvelle approche mondiale du genre Morchella. Bulletin trimestriel de la Société mycologique de France 126 (3-4): 199–376.
21. ↑ Richard, Franck; Bellanger, Jean-Michel; Clowez, Philippe; Courtecuisse, Regis; Hansen, Karen; O'Donnell, Kerry; Sauve, Mathieu; Urban, Alexander; Moreau, Pierre-Arthur (30 December 2014). "True morels (Morchella, Pezizales) of Europe and North America: evolutionary relationships inferred from multilocus data and a unified taxonomy". Mycologia (Preliminary version published online). doi:10.3852/14-166. Template:PMID. 14-166.
22. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Ref_k`
23. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Ref_l`
24. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Ref_m`

## External links

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* California Fungi

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