EDIBLE MtJSHROOMS. 75 



COMMON MOREL. 



Morchella esculenta. 



(Plate IX. Fig. 2.) 



All the Morels which are found in this 

 country are edible, and make their appear- 

 ance in the spring. The peculiar cap, or 

 pileus, is more or less globose, or conical, 

 and the surface is deeply pitted with large 

 elongated or hexagonal pits, in the flesh of 

 which the spores are imbedded, as in the 

 Helvellas. The present species has the 

 margin of the cap grown to the stem, so as 

 to be continuous with it. The pileus and 

 stem are hollow, the latter externally white 

 and the former light brown, or greyish, with 

 a tinge of olive. They do not appear to be 

 so common with us as in France, since large 

 baskets filled wdth them are commonly 

 exposed for sale in the markets of Paris at 

 a moderate price. In this country they are 

 undoubtedly local and comparatively rare, 

 occurring in woods or on hedge banks. 



