2. Cap scarcely broader than stem, M. angusticeps 
3. Cap free from stem to middle, M. semilibera 
3. Cap free from stem to top, M. bispora 
The Common morel, Morchella esculenta, generally has the 
cap a little longer than broad, so that it is nearly oval in outline. 
Sometimes it is nearly globular, and occasionally it is slightly 
narrowed in its upper half, 
but not so much as to be 
pointed or conical. The pits 
or cavities in its surface are 
more regularly rounded than 
in the other species, and re- 
semble more the cells of a 
honey-comb. The cap is 
much broader than the di- 
ameter of the stem. The 
plants vary from two to 
four inches in height, but 
occasionally specimens occur 
much larger, and sometimes 
even smaller than these di- 
mensions. The stem is com- 
monly half an inch or more 
in diameter. 
The Conical morel, M. 
conica, is closely related to 
the preceding species, of 
which some have considered 
it a mere variety. It differs 
from it in having the cap 
longer in proportion to its 
width, and also more point- 
ed, so that it is conical or ob- 
long-conical in shape. The 
principal ridges which sepa- 
rate the rows of pits in the 
surface appear to run more regularly and distinctly from top to 
bottom. They are connected by intervening transverse ridges, 
which are sometimes less elevated that the longitudinal ridges, 
and therefore the pits often appear longer than broad, and less 
regular in outline. The cap is decidedly broader than its stem. 
The plants are generally from three to five inches high. 
The Narrow-cap morel, M. angusticeps, differs from the 
17 
Morchella esculenta, full size. 
