Morchella crassipes or Common morel

The cap large: 5-15 cm across, 8-20 cm tall, egg-shaped to elongated-conical. The surface has clear honeycomb pits separated by yellowish ridges. Color honey-yellow, ochre-brown, dark brown in old mushrooms. The cap is fused to the stem along its whole length (a key trait of a true morel — unlike Verpa, whose cap hangs freely). There is a single inner cavity, with no partitions.

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 covers the inner surface of the pits (as in all Pezizales/Morchellaceae). Asci with spores mature in the pits. Spore print yellowish to light ochre.

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.

Stem thick and fleshy: 5-15 cm tall, 2-5 cm thick at the top, and at the bottom widening to 4-8 cm, like a "barrel". Surface lengthwise ribbed and furrowed, whitish-cream, light ochre with age. Hollow inside, the cavity joined to the cap's cavity. In old mushrooms the stem may be wrinkled.

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 thin (about 3-5 mm), waxy, white to yellowish, brittle. Does not change color when cut. Pleasant mushroomy aroma and taste.

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

Pleasant, mild, mushroomy, faintly nutty. One of the most delicate aromas among spring mushrooms. The taste is refined and meaty.

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.