_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ covered with warts of different sizes; margins even, convex, flesh turns obscurely red when cut or bruised, slightly moist and shining; _gills_ attenuated behind; _stem_ at first stuffed, in age becoming hollow, bulbous, sometimes scaly; _ring_ wide, marked with striæ; _spores_ nearly elliptical; _smell_ strong; _taste_ not unpleasant. This is a very delicate fungus, which grows in sufficient abundance to render it of importance in a culinary point of view. It makes excellent ketchup. Cordier reports it as one of the most delicate mushrooms of the Lorraine; and Roques speaks equally well of it. It generally grows in woods, particularly of oak and chestnut, both in summer and autumn. No fungus is more preyed upon than this by mice, snails, and insects. MORCHELLA ESCULENTA, _Dill._ PLATE XII. FIGS. 6 AND 7. Tribe 3. MITRATI. _Morell._ “Sommamente ricercata,”—_Vitt._ Every one knows the Morell, that expensive luxury which the rich are content to procure at great cost from our Italian warehouses, and the poor are fain to do without. It is less generally known that this fungus, though by no means so common with us as some others, (a circumstance partly attributable to the prevailing ignorance as to when and where to look for it, or even of its being indigenous to England,[178]) occurs not unfrequently in our orchards and woods, towards the beginning of summer. Roques reports favourably of some specimens sent to him by the Duke of Athol; and others, from different parts of the country, occasionally find their way into Covent Garden market. The genus _Morchella_ comprises very few species, and they are all good to eat. Persoon remarks, that though the Morell rarely appears in a sandy soil, preferring a calcareous or argillaceous ground, it frequently springs up on sites where charcoal has been burnt or where cinders have been thrown. _Morchella esculenta._ _Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ very various in shape and hue, the surface broken up into little sinuses or cells, made by folds or plaits of the hymenium, which are more or less salient, and constitute the so-called ribs. These _ribs_ are very irregular, and anastomose with each other throughout; the pileus hollow, opening into the irregular hollow stem. _Spores_ pale-yellow. _Morchella semilibera._ _Bot. Char._ This may be known from the _M. esculenta_ by being, as its name imports, half free, _i. e._ having the pileus for half its length detached from the stalk. Spores are pale-yellow. Odour, at first feeble, becomes stronger in drying. Occurring less frequently than the last, and much less sapid. Neither of these funguses should be gathered after rain, as they are then insipid and soon spoil.[179] M. Roques says the Morell may be dressed in a variety of ways, both fresh and dry, with butter or in oil, _au gras_ or _à la crême_. The following receipts for cooking them are from Persoon.