True morels vs false morels: one cut tells them apart

Two mushrooms, one season

True and false morels appear in the same spring weeks. The morel (Morchella; in Turkish kuzugöbeği, "lamb's belly button") is the most sought-after wild mushroom of spring. Turkish records on GBIF run from March to June, and most foragers know it as an April–May mushroom. The false morel (Gyromitra esculenta) appears at the same time, mostly under conifers. You can meet both in the same wood in the same week.

Telling them apart is not hard for a trained eye. The danger comes from dropping anything that looks morel-ish into the basket.

Look at the cap: honeycomb or brain?

• True morel: egg- or cone-shaped cap covered in a regular honeycomb of pits with distinct ridges. Colour ranges from creamy yellow to dark grey-brown depending on the species.
• False morel: irregular, lobed cap that looks like a brain, with folds rather than pits. Usually reddish-brown or deep chestnut.

Cut it and look inside

The surest difference is inside. Slice a true morel lengthwise and you see one unbroken hollow from the tip of the cap to the base of the stem, with the cap joined to the stem at its base. In a false morel the inside isn't a single hollow: it is divided into chambers or filled with cottony tissue.

Don't decide from the outside alone. A single doubtful specimen puts the rest of the basket at risk; leave out anything you're not sure about.

Why false morels are dangerous

False morels contain gyromitrin, which the body turns into monomethylhydrazine (MMH), a compound that attacks the liver, the nervous system and sometimes the kidneys. According to the INCHEM monograph, gastrointestinal symptoms usually begin 6–10 hours after eating and can be delayed up to 48 hours in mild cases; severe cases can bring delirium, coma and death.

In some countries they are eaten after parboiling and discarding the water. Repeated boiling removes most of the toxin but not all of it, and the fumes released while cooking can poison too. Toxin levels vary from mushroom to mushroom and people react differently. We don't consider this species edible however it is prepared.

True morels must be cooked too

Morels need thorough cooking. In 2023, 51 people fell ill after eating morels at a restaurant in Montana, USA, and two died. The CDC report found that eating raw morels was more strongly linked to illness than eating ones that were at least partly cooked; the substance responsible is not fully understood. The report advises cooking morels before eating them.

Don't add raw morels to salads or just flash them in the pan; cook them through, and skip any that are old and going soft. For a recipe see morels in butter, and for the wider picture read which mushrooms can you eat raw.

Side by side

• Cap: regular honeycomb pits on a true morel; brain-like folds on a false morel.
• Inside: one hollow from tip to base on a true morel; chambered or cottony on a false morel.
• Colour: cream, yellowish, grey or brown in true morels; usually reddish-brown in false morels.
• Cooking: true morels must be cooked through; false morels are not safe even when cooked.

This comparison is for learning. Show anything you pick to an expert before eating it; if poisoning is suspected, call your emergency number (in Turkey 112, poison centre 114).