Photo by Сергей Неклюдов on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · photographed specimen identified as Morchella esculenta, a close relative
Morels
Morchella americana
This one has a dangerous look-alike
False morels (Gyromitra) have a brain-like wrinkled cap and are cottony or chambered inside, not hollow. They can be fatal.
- When
- Typically April – June — April, May, June. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Dying elms and old apple orchards in the east; burned conifer forest in the west; river bottoms everywhere.
- How to know it
- Honeycomb pitted cap fused to the stem, and completely hollow from cap tip to stem base when sliced lengthwise.
- Harvest and use
- Always cooked. Halve, rinse out the grit, sauté in butter.
- Caution
- Slice every single one lengthwise before it goes in the basket.
Found in these regions
- Boreal North & Taiga
- Boreal Forest & Shield
- Acadian Forest & Atlantic Coast
- Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
- Northeast Atlantic Coast & Piedmont
- Appalachian Highlands
- Central Hardwoods & Interior Plateaus
- Southeastern Piedmont & Coastal Plain
- Gulf Coast & Mississippi Lowlands
- Florida Peninsula
- Prairies & Great Plains
- Western Mountains & Interior Plateaus
- Pacific Maritime
- Mediterranean California
- Deserts & Dry Basins
- Hawaiʻi & the Tropics
Is it ready near you?
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.