Morchella elata

Morchella elata Fr. (illustrated 50% life size) Fruit body 5–14cm high. Cap narrow, conical, ridges in more or less parallel vertical lines; blackening with age; pits rectangular, olive-brown. Stem cylindrical; whitish to pale brown with age; coarsely granular. Spores 18–25×11–15¼, elliptical. Asci 330×20¼. Habitat in coniferous woods on chalk soil; late spring. Rare. Edible. Note M. elata var. purpurescens Krombh., differing from M. elata mainly in its pale violaceous fertile head, has been reported only twice, from Scotland. It is possible that after further work this species will become part of M. esculenta (above).