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Half-free Morel
Morchella punctipes is the eastern North American half-free morel, a small morel whose cap hangs skirt-like from the stem, attached about halfway down the cap. Charles Horton Peck described it from Michigan in 1903. It was long treated as the European M. semilibera, but DNA studies show the two are distinct.
Edible when thoroughly cooked, with a mild flavor; raw morels are poisonous. Main look-alike: Verpa bohemica, whose cap attaches only at the very top of the stem and whose stem is stuffed with cottony tissue. Gyromitra (false morels) have brain-like caps with a chambered interior. Slice lengthwise to check cap attachment and the hollow interior.
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Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
