COMMON EDIBLE MOREL (MORCHELLA ESCULANTA) 365 
The Common Edible Morel (Morchella 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 
Fic. 315. — A cluster of Morels, Morchella esculenta (X 3). 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 316. 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 hymeniwm, 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 
