Toxic lookalike
False Morel
Gyromitra esculenta
A false morel has a lumpy, brain-like reddish-brown cap attached to the stem in several places, and a chambered interior. It contains gyromitrin, a more dangerous toxin.
Early False Morel
Verpa bohemica
Toxic lookalike
Also called wrinkled thimble cap, verpa.
The early false morel is a spring mushroom that appears just before true morels, often under cottonwoods and aspens. Its wrinkled, thimble-like cap hangs free from the top of the stem, and the stem is stuffed with cottony tissue. It has caused poisonings.
Verpa bohemica
Photo coming
The tell
Wrinkled thimble-shaped cap attached only at the top of a cotton-filled stem.
Field marks
What to look at
Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.
- Cap
- Bell- or thimble-shaped, yellowish brown to brown, with long wrinkles and folds that run from top to bottom and sometimes branch. The cap hangs like a skirt and attaches only at the top of the stem.
- Underside
- No gills or pores. The underside of the cap is pale and separate from the stem except at the very top.
- Stem
- Whitish to cream, often with fine granules arranged in faint bands, and tapering upward. Filled with cottony pith when young, becoming hollow with age. No ring and no cup.
- Flesh
- Thin, brittle and whitish. Smell is not distinctive.
- Spore print
- Yellowish.
- Size
- Cap 0.5 to 2 inches tall (1 to 5 cm); whole mushroom 2 to 5 inches tall (5 to 12 cm).
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- Moist woods, river bottoms and stream banks, often under cottonwoods, aspens and other poplars.
- Grows on
- Soil, often in leaf litter.
- Season
- Early spring, usually just before and overlapping with the first true morels.
- Range
- Widespread across northern North America, including the Rocky Mountains and the Northeast.
Lookalikes
What the early false morel gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
EdibleHalf-Free Morel
Morchella punctipes
The half-free morel's cap is pitted rather than wrinkled and attaches about halfway up, and its stem is hollow.
EdibleMorel
Morchella esculentoides
A true morel's honeycomb cap is fused to the stem at its lower edge, and the whole mushroom is one continuous hollow.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Toxic lookalike
Field guides disagree on this species. Some older guides list it as edible with caution, while most current North American guides list it as poisonous or not recommended. Recorded reactions include gastrointestinal upset and loss of muscle coordination, and some people have reacted only after eating it on several occasions. It is often confused with the half-free morel, which has a hollow stem.
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
FAQ
Questions about the early false morel
Is Verpa bohemica poisonous?
Field guides record it causing gastrointestinal upset and loss of muscle coordination in some people, and most current North American guides list it as poisonous or not recommended. Some older guides treated it as edible.
How do you tell an early false morel from a true morel?
Sliced lengthwise, the early false morel shows a cap attached only at the very top of the stem, hanging free like a thimble, and a stem stuffed with cottony fibers. A true morel's cap is fused to the stem at its lower edge and the whole mushroom is hollow.
When do early false morels appear?
In early spring, usually just before true morels and overlapping with the first of them. They grow in moist woods and river bottoms, especially under cottonwoods and aspens.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Verpa bohemica
MushroomExpert.com
- Verpa bohemica
Index Fungorum
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