Yellow Morel Culture Plate

This morel variety is the most widely distributed and common morel in North America, relatively easily identified. Morchella esculenta is a yellow morel--which means it has ridges that do not darken to brown or black with maturity, and a cap that is attached to the stem without a significant groove or channel. Among the yellow morels, it can be distinguished based on its medium to large size, its egg-shaped cap, the random orientation of its pits and ridges, and the fact that its surfaces do generally not bruise reddish when fresh.
 
In western North America, Morchella esculenta appears primarily in river bottoms, in association with cottonwoods and other hardwoods--or in urban settings, in association with ornamental ash plantings, or apple trees. East of the Rocky Mountains, it can appear almost anywhere where there are trees--but it is especially frequent under dead or dying American elms, and under living white ash and green ash.