COMMON EDIBLE MOREL (MORCHELLA ESCULANTA) 365 



The Common Edible Morel (MorcheUa esculenta). — The 

 common Edible Morel is found in the spring, commonly in May 

 and early June. It is quite generally collected and used for food. 

 It is often called a Mushroom, although it is not the cultivated 

 Mushroom. Morels are usually found in the woods among the 

 leaves and about old logs and stumps. Often they grow in 

 clusters as Figure 315 shows. The wrinkled top and supporting 

 stalk consist of hyphae so massed together as to form a definitely 



Fig. 315. — A cluster of Morels, MorcheUa esculenta (XI). Photographed 



by C. M. King. 



shaped plant body. The mycelium absorbs food from decaying 

 organic matter in the earth, and when it is well established in the 

 soil, the portion above ground is produced. The asci with the 

 ascospores are produced in the pits of the wrinkled top which is 

 known as the ascocarp. A small portion of a section through a 

 pit, as seen under the microscope, is shown in Figure S16. The 

 asci are numerous and each contains eight ascospores. The asci 

 with the intermingling sterile hyphae, called paraphyses, consti- 

 tute a distinct layer, known as the hymenium, on the surface of 

 the ascocarp. After the spores are mature, the ascocarp decays 

 and frees the spores which are widely distributed by wind and 



