MORELS, CUP-FUNGI, HELVELLAS, ETC. 217 



most cases the illustrations will serve this purpose so far as it is desi- 

 able to accomplish it in such a work as the present. Certain of the 

 species will then be described and illustrated. 



MORCHELLA Dill. 



The morels are all edible and they are usually easy to recognize. 

 The plant consists of two distinct, prominent parts, the cap and the 

 stem. The cap varies in form from rounded, ovate, conic or cylin- 

 drical, or bell-shaped, but it is always marked by rather broad pits, 

 covering the entire outer surface, which are separated from each 

 other by ridges forming a network. The color of the plants does not 

 differ to any perceptible extent in our species. The cap is usually 

 buff or light ochre yellow, becoming 'darker with age and in drying. 



The stem in all our species is usually quite stout, though it varies 

 to some extent in some of the different species, in proportion to the 

 thickness of the cap. The stem is marked in some of the species by 

 large wrinkles or folds extending irregularly but with considerable 

 uniformity over the surface. The surface is further minutely 

 roughened by whitish or grayish elevations, giving it a granular 

 appearance. Sometimes these granules are quite evenly distributed 

 over the surface, and in some species they are more or less separated 

 into small areas by narrow lines. 



The morels appear early in the season, during May and June. 

 They grow usually in damp situations, and are more abundant 

 during rainy weather. Three species are illustrated here. 



Morchella esculenta Pers. Edible. The name of this species, the 

 esculent morel, indicates that it has been long known as an edible 

 plant, especially since the man who named it lived a century ago. 

 The plant is from 5-15 cm. high, the stem is 1-3 cm. in thickness, 

 and the cap is broader than the stem. The cap is somewhat longer 

 than broad, and is more or less oval or rounded in outline. The 

 arrangement of the pits on the surface of the cap is regarded by some 

 as being characteristic of certain species. In this species the pits are 

 irregularly arranged, so that they do not form rows, and so that the 

 ridges separating them do not run longitudinally from the base toward 

 the apex of the cap, but run quite irregularly. This arrangement 

 can be seen in Fig. 216, which is from a photograph of this species. 

 The stem is hollow. 



Morchella conica Pers. Edible. This species is very closely related 

 to the preceding one, and is considered by some to be only a form of 

 the Morchella esculenta. The size is about the same, the only differ- 

 ence being in the somewhat longer cap and especially in the arrange- 



