Discina ancilis or Common morel

Fruit body cup-shaped or shield-shaped, 5-15 cm across, with a concave upper surface and an uneven, wavy margin. In old specimens it flattens out. Color of the top: reddish-brown, chocolate-brown to olive-brown, surface smooth, sometimes with fine radial veins. The underside (outer surface) is paler, cream-gray, with a fine down.

The fruiting body consists of a cap and a stem. Cap 4–12 cm tall and 3–8 cm wide, egg-shaped or irregularly egg-shaped. The surface is covered with irregular pits and ridges that form a honeycomb-like, spongy structure — a hallmark of the genus. Color ranges from pale yellow to brownish ochre.

The hymenophore is the upper concave surface of the fruit body (as in all cup fungi — the Pezizales). Smooth, without gills or tubes. Color reddish-brown to brown. Spore print white to pale yellowish.

The hymenophore sits in the pits of the cap: the spore-bearing layer (hymenium) lines the walls of the pits. This is an atypical ascomycete hymenophore, not tubes or gills. The entire surface of the cap is spore-bearing.

There is no obvious stem — the fruit body is attached to the substrate at the center by a short (1-2 cm), thick, whitish “holdfast,” often furrowed. It may also be unattached altogether.

Stem 4–10 cm tall, 2–5 cm thick, hollow, broad, almost cylindrical or slightly narrowing toward the base. The surface is irregularly ribbed or wavy, white or creamy white. Inside it is hollow, continuous with the cap.

flesh is thin, brittle, waxy, whitish to yellowish. Does not change color when cut. Fresh, it is toxic — boiling is mandatory.

Flesh delicate, waxy, brittle, hollow inside. Whitish or cream in color. The taste is pleasant and delicate after boiling. Raw, it may contain toxins.

Faint mushroomy smell, nothing distinctive. When fresh, do not taste it.

Smell pleasant, earthy, gently mushroomy, with a light floral note. One of the most soulful spring mushroom aromas. When boiled, the aroma passes into the broth, which is why morel broth is valued in its own right.