Yellow / gray morel
Morchella spp.
Honeycomb cap continuous with the stem, completely hollow. The spring prize — and a deadly lookalike test.
- Marks
- Pits not gills; hollow when split; cap fused to stem
- Size
- 2–6 in
- Habitat
- Old apple orchards, dying elms, ash, tulip poplar bottoms, burned ground. Mid-April to mid-May around Dillsboro.
- Season
- About two to three weeks in April–May.
- Frequency
- uncommon
Cap is pitted like a sponge, attached to the stem at the base, and the whole mushroom is hollow from tip to base when sliced lengthwise. Colors run gray to yellow-tan.
Uses
Sauté in butter. Dry extras on a string.
If this is the one
Always split. If the cap hangs like a wrinkled brain and the stem is stuffed or chambered, it is not a morel. Cook thoroughly — never raw. When in doubt, throw it out.
Lookalikes
False morel
Gyromitra spp.
Wrinkled brain cap, stuffed stem. Contains gyromitrin, which becomes monomethylhydrazine.
Destroying angel
Amanita bisporigera
Pure white amanita. Cup at the base, ring on the stem. Liver-killing. Looks like a button mushroom if you are careless.