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A yellow morel of the Midwest and Great Lakes region that cannot be reliably told from Morchella americana without DNA. It grows under ash, tulip tree, elm and maple in spring, sometimes within a few feet of M. americana. Kuo and Moore described it as M. cryptica in 2012, but Clowez's M. ulmaria from the same year is the accepted name.
Edible only when thoroughly cooked; morels contain heat-labile toxins and raw or undercooked morels can cause poisoning. Separate from false morels (Gyromitra), whose caps are brain-like or wrinkled and chambered or cottony inside, and from Verpa, whose cap hangs free from the top of a cotton-stuffed stem. A true morel is hollow from cap to stem base when sliced lengthwise.
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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 Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
