Morel Data Collection Project: Preliminary Results

by Michael Kuo

Project Database

The Morel Data Collection Project contains over 400 North American morels from across the continent. Scientific study of these mushrooms is ongoing, but preliminary findings are listed below. DNA testing of MDCP morels is being performed by several mycologists who have been kind enough to share preliminary, basic results for many of the mushrooms--but the results should not be construed as "final" or complete. The MDCP collection is housed in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

• To date, DNA analysis has revealed more than a dozen genetically distinct morels in North America. See MDCP Morel Taxa for descriptions of these mushrooms.

• To date, morphological analysis (examination of physical features) is not supported as a consistent means of determining morel species--with the exceptions of the "Fuzzy Foot" morel, Morchella rufobrunnea, the "Western Blond," and "Taxon J." Four species groups, however, can apparently be reliably determined with morphology: black morels, half-free morels, esculenta-like yellow morels, and deliciosa-like yellow morels. For more information, see Identifying Morels with Morphology.

• "Morchella crassipes," the so-called "Thick-Footed Morel," is not supported as a genetically distinct species, and apparently represents a late-season growth form rather than a different mushroom. (More information.)

• "Gray morels" (in the Midwestern and eastern sense) are not supported as genetically distinct species, and apparently represent immature versions of yellow morels or mere color variations, rather than different mushrooms. (More information.)

• "Gray morels" in the western sense appear to represent a genetically distinct species with no current scientific name; I have called it the "Fuzzy Foot Morel." It is a morphologically distinct species (meaning: you can tell it from other morels by examining its features). However, the Fuzzy Foot is sometimes given other names ("blond," "brown," and so on) by western collectors. (More information.)

• "Pickles" and "Greenies" (western burn-site morels with a greenish cast) are not supported as genetically distinct species, and appear to represent mere color variations rather than different mushrooms. A similar scenario is involved with the pointy-headed morels western collectors sometimes call "Conicas." (More information.)

• Morchella rufobrunnea, described from Mexico's Gulf Coast in 1998, is supported as a genetically distinct species; it also occurs in winter and early spring in landscaping areas in coastal California and Oregon. Unlike many of the morel species DNA has determined, it has physical and ecological features that make it easy to distinguish. It appears to be the mushroom described by many western field guide authors as "Morchella deliciosa." (More Information.)

• RFLP and sequencing analysis appear to support each other, with some exceptions. Of 16 putative North American morel taxa identified by the two methods, only 3 taxa are identified by one method and not the other, and the methods are in roughly 80% agreement. RFLP identifies one black morel and one yellow morel that sequencing does not see, while sequencing identifies a black morel that RFLP does not see. See MDCP Morel Taxa for further information.

Cite This Page As:

Kuo, M. (2006, March). Morel Data Collection Project: Preliminary results. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/mdcp/ndex.html