How to Tell a False Morel Mushroom
- 1). Identify the false morel (Gyromitra esculenta), widespread in North America, by its heavily convoluted brownish cap, which is not attached to the stem along its entire length as in true morels. The stalk lacks both major exterior ridges and, inside, extensive folding.
- 2). Look for the dark or yellowish-brown, comparatively smooth cap of the umbrella false morel (Gyromitra californica), a common name betraying the caps' frequent form. Obvious ridges extend up the stalk, often crimson or pinkish at its base, into the ventral surface of the cap. Umbrella false morels are widespread in the West, and while they may fruit in any season, most commonly appear in spring and summer.
- 3). Watch for the general massiveness of the snowbank false morel (Gyromitra gigas), which has a very broad stalk and a brain-like cap grading from yellowish-brown to dark brown depending on maturity. The interior of the stalk is convoluted. The appearance of this species, found in mountains of the American West, often coincides with late winter or spring snowmelt.
- 4). Note the relatively un-fissured cap of the hooded false morel (Gyromitra infula), which, as the eponym suggests, sometimes has a hood-shaped crown. The interior of the stalk may be segmented or hollow. Across most of its broad range, the hooded false morel fruits in late summer and autumn.
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