Western hardwood black morel

What it is

Western hardwood black morel is the common name the catalogue gives to Morchella brunnea, a true morel found in western North America. True morels have a pitted, ridged cap on a hollow stem. The ridges of this species stay dark as the fruiting body develops, which is one of the features used in the field.

Morphology does not always separate Morchella brunnea from related western morels. The Mycocosm genome record notes that it can be hard to tell apart by appearance alone, and the catalogue notes that the species name often needs molecular confirmation. A collection should not be named from appearance alone.

Where it is gathered

The catalogue places the culinary record in western North America and describes the fungus as wild-harvested, growing in forest and woodland with an ecology that varies between lineages. The catalogue also gives the use as a culinary morel that requires cooking.

The sources read for this page do not give local names, seasons or quantities for this species.

Safety when eating morels

Morels must be cooked thoroughly before eating. The catalogue records that raw or undercooked morels can cause serious poisoning. In a 2023 outbreak in Bozeman, Montana, 51 people reported gastrointestinal illness after eating a sushi roll containing morels, three were hospitalized, and two deaths are reported. The species in that outbreak was Morchella sextelata, not M. brunnea, but it is the best-documented outbreak used for the cooking advice here.

The report found raw morels more strongly associated with illness than cooked or partially cooked morels. It states that cooking is likely to reduce toxin levels but does not say cooking removes all risk. Smell, taste and appearance do not establish that a morel is safe.

Notes and gaps

The sources read for this page do not describe the preparation, markets or dishes of Morchella brunnea specifically, and they do not give an edibility verdict for it. Those points are left open rather than borrowed from other morels.