(= M. conica, M. deliciosa)

BLACK MOREL

Fruit body: cap is conical shaped, hollow, up to 8 cm, olive to brown coloured, rarely brighter, leaning on stem, sometimes with visible vertical ridges; alveolae often brighter than sterile edges. Stem up to 10x4 cm, granular, mostly hollow, at first cream, later darker.

Microscopy: spores ellipsoid,18-30x10-18 µm, cream en masse. Asci are elongated, with 8 spores, paraphyses cylindrical, septate, sometimes branched at top.

Flesh: elastic, greyish, with pleasant smell.

Habitat: season spring, mostly near edges of mountain woods.

Edibility: Edible and tasty when cooked.

Comment: This fungus has a wide area of distribution and shows high degree of phenotypic plasticity. Fruit bodies vary a lot in colour, shape, expression of vertical ridges, as well as habitat, but the cap is always conical.

Reference: Uzelac, B. (2009). Gljive Srbije i zapadnog Balkana, BGV Logik, Beograd.