Morchella importuna

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Morchella importuna
Morchella importuna 211765.jpg
Morchella importuna in Seattle, Washington, USA
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Pezizomycetes
Order: Pezizales
Family: Morchellaceae
Genus: Morchella
Species:
M. importuna
Binomial name
Morchella importuna
M.Kuo, O'Donnell & T.J.Volk (2012)

Morchella importuna is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae described from North America in 2012. It occurs in gardens, woodchip beds, and other urban settings of northern California and the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada. The fungus has also been reported from Turkey, Spain, France, Switzerland, Canada and China, although it is unknown whether this is a result of accidental introductions. It is considered a choice edible mushroom. The fruit bodies develop a distinctive ladder-like pattern of pits and ridges on the surface of their conical caps.

Contents

Taxonomy

Officially described in 2012, Morchella importuna was one of 14 new North American species that resulted from the Morel Data Collection Project. [1] The type locality was in King County, Washington. It was previously identified as phylogenetic species Mel-10 in a 2011 publication, [2] and erroneously as the "Classic North American Black Morel" in 2005, where it was lumped together with Morchella angusticeps , and what has since been described as M. brunnea . [3] [4] The specific epithet importuna, which means "inconsiderate" or "assertive", refers to the morel's habit of causing "consternation and distress among gardeners and homeowners whose territory has been invaded". [3]

As argued in a recent study by Richard et al. [5] however, the name Morchella importuna is probably a later synonym of an old European taxon, such as Morchella elata , Morchella vaporaria or Morchella hortensis .

Description

In immature fruit bodies, the cap ridges are rounded and the color predominantly grayish. Morchella importuna 112758.jpg
In immature fruit bodies, the cap ridges are rounded and the color predominantly grayish.

The fruit bodies of M. importuna are 6–20 cm (2.4–7.9 in) high. The cap is 3–15 cm (1.2–5.9 in) high and measures 2–9 cm (0.8–3.5 in) wide at its widest point. It is conical to widely conical or occasionally egg-shaped. Its surface has pits and ridges, with 12–20 primary vertical ridges and numerous transecting horizontal ridges, creating a laddered appearance. The cap is attached to stipe with a sinus about 2–5 mm both deep and wide. The ridges are smooth or finely velvety and colored pale to dark gray when young, becoming dark grayish brown to nearly black in age. They are bluntly rounded when young, but later become sharpened or eroded. Pits are vertically elongated in all stages of development. They have a smooth or finely velvety texture. The pits open and deepen with development, progressing from gray to dark gray when immature to grayish brown, grayish olive or brownish yellow at maturity. The stipe measures 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) high and 2–6 cm (0.8–2.4 in) wide, and is often somewhat thicker near the base. Its whitish to pale brownish surface is smooth or finely mealy with whitish granules. It develops longitudinal ridges and grooves (particularly near the base) as the fruit body matures. The flesh is whitish to watery tan, measuring 1–3 mm thick in the hollow cap; in the stipe, this tissue is sometimes arranged as chambers or layers. The sterile inner surface of the cap is whitish and pubescent (covered with short soft "hair"). [3]

Morchella importuna is found in urban settings such as gardens and wood chip beds. 2012-05-05 Morchella importuna M.Kuo, O'Donnell & T.J.Volk 216687.jpg
Morchella importuna is found in urban settings such as gardens and wood chip beds.

The ascospores are elliptical, smooth, and measure 18–24 by 10–13 µm. The cylindrical, hyaline (translucent), asci are eight-spored, measuring 220–300 by 12–25 µm. Paraphyses are septate, measuring 150–250 by 7–15 µm. They are cylindrical with variably shaped tips: rounded to roughly club-shaped, pointy, or fuse-shaped. Elements on the sterile ridges are septate and measure 25–300 by 10–30 µm. Terminal cells are cylindrical with a rounded tip that is variably shaped similar to the paraphyses. Both the paraphyses and the terminal cells are hyaline or brownish in dilute (2%) potassium hydroxide. [3]

As a member of the Morchella elata group of black morels, M. importuna is sought after as a choice edible mushroom. Raw morels are poisonous and should always be cooked. [6]

Similar species

The rare Pacific Northwest morel Morchella hotsonii , known only from its type collection, is quite similar in appearance to M. importuna. The former species is distinguished by its finely velvety surface. [3]

Habitat, distribution, and ecology

A saprobic fungus, Morchella importuna fruit bodies grow in wood chips, gardens, fire pits, planters, and almost any disturbed ground in urban areas. [7] Kuo suggests that it has mycorrhizal tendencies when grown in an environment with trees. [8] Known primarily from northern California and the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, it has been reported from British Columbia (Canada), California, Washington, Nevada, and Oregon, [3] although there have been a few isolated reports of the morel from the Midwestern United States and from eastern North America. Fruiting occurs in the spring, from March until May. [8] Identified as phylogenetic species "Mel-10", Morchella importuna has also been found in Turkey [9] and China, but it remains unclear whether dispersal between these distant locations occurred naturally or through accidental introduction by humans. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Morchella</i> Genus of fungi

Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales. These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges with pits composing their caps. Morels are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly in Catalan and French cuisine, but can be toxic if consumed raw. Due to difficulties in cultivation, commercial harvesting of wild morels has become a multimillion-dollar industry in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in particular North America, Turkey, China, the Himalayas, India, and Pakistan where these highly prized fungi are found in abundance.

<i>Morchella esculenta</i> Species of fungus

Morchella esculenta is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae of the Ascomycota. It is one of the most readily recognized of all the edible mushrooms and highly sought after. Each fruit body begins as a tightly compressed, grayish sponge with lighter ridges, and expands to form a large yellowish sponge with large pits and ridges raised on a large white stem. The pitted yellow-brown caps measure 2–7 centimetres broad by 2–10 cm (1–4 in) tall, and are fused to the stem at its lower margin, forming a continuous hollow. The pits are rounded and irregularly arranged. The hollow stem is typically 2–9 cm long by 2–5 cm (1–2 in) thick, and white to yellow. The fungus fruits under hardwoods and conifers during a short period in the spring, depending on the weather, and is also associated with old orchards, woods and disturbed grounds.

<i>Morchella elata</i> Species of fungus

Morchella elata is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. It is one of many related species commonly known as black morels, and until 2012 the name M. elata was broadly applied to black morels throughout the globe. Like most members of the genus, M. elata is a popular edible fungus and is sought by many mushroom hunters.

<i>Verpa conica</i> Species of fungus

Verpa conica, commonly known as the bell morel or the early morel, is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. Sometimes mistaken for a true morel, this species is characterized by a cap resembling a thimble that is freely attached to the stipe.

<i>Verpa bohemica</i> Species of fungus

Verpa bohemica is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. The synonym Ptychoverpa bohemica is often used by European mycologists and it is commonly known as the early morel or the wrinkled thimble-cap. The mushroom has a pale yellow or brown thimble-shaped cap—2 to 4 cm in diameter by 2 to 5 cm long—that has a surface wrinkled and ribbed with brain-like convolutions. A feature distinguishing the species from true morels, the cap hangs free from the top of the stem, which is lighter in color, brittle, and up to 12 cm long by 1 to 2.5 cm thick. Microscopically, the mushroom is distinguished by its large spores, typically 60–80 by 15–18 µm, and the presence of only two spores per ascus.

<i>Morchella rufobrunnea</i> Species of edible fungus in the family Morchellaceae

Morchella rufobrunnea, commonly known as the blushing morel, is a species of ascomycete fungus in the family Morchellaceae. A choice edible species, the fungus was described as new to science in 1998 by mycologists Gastón Guzmán and Fidel Tapia from collections made in Veracruz, Mexico. Its distribution was later revealed to be far more widespread after several DNA studies suggested that it is also present in the West Coast of the United States, Israel, Australia, Cyprus, Malta and Switzerland.

<i>Morchella tridentina</i> Species of fungus

Morchella tridentina is a cosmopolitan species of ascomycete fungus in the family Morchellaceae. Commonly referred to as the mountain blond or western blond morel in North America, it produces conical, grey to buff fruit bodies that are rufescent and grow up to 20 cm (7.9 in) tall and 5 cm (2.0 in) wide. This early-diverging species is distinct within the /Elata clade due to its pale colours and has been described by many names in the past, including M. frustrata, M. quercus-ilicis, M. elatoides, M. elatoides var. elegans and M. conica var. pseudoeximia, all of which were shown to be synonyms. A widely distributed relict of the last Ice Age, M. tridentina is so far known from Argentina, Armenia, Chile, Cyprus, France, India, Israel, North America, Spain and Turkey.

<i>Morchella americana</i> Species of fungus

Morchella americana is a North American species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae.

<i>Morchella snyderi</i> Species of fungus

Morchella snyderi is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. Described as new to science in 2012, it occurs in the montane forests of western North America, including California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. It produces fruit bodies up to 14 cm (5.5 in) tall with ridged and pitted conical caps, and stipes that become pitted in maturity. The color of the morel is yellow to tan when young, but the cap ridges become brown to black in maturity or when dried.

<i>Morchella sextelata</i> Species of fungus

Morchella sextelata is a species of ascomycete fungus in the family Morchellaceae. Described as new to science in 2012, it is found in North America. It has also been found in China, although it is not known if this is a result of an accidental introduction or natural dispersion. The fruit bodies have a roughly conical cap up to 7.5 cm (3 in) tall and 5 cm (2 in) wide, with a surface of mostly vertically arranged pits. The cap is initially yellowish to brownish, but it darkens to become almost black in maturity. The stipe is white and hollow, measuring 2–5 cm (0.8–2.0 in) high by 1–2.2 cm (0.4–0.9 in) wide.

<i>Morchella populiphila</i> Species of fungus

Morchella populiphila is a species of morel fungus native to northwestern North America. Described as new to science in 2012, its specific epithet refers to its association with black cottonwood. The morel used to be referred to as Morchella semilibera in western North American field guides until molecular analysis established that to be a strictly European species. M. populiphila occurs in California, Nevada and Oregon. Its fruit bodies grow up to 15 cm (6 in) tall with a ridged and pitted conical cap that attaches about halfway down the stipe. The cap ridges are dark brown to black in maturity, while the pits are yellowish to brownish. The fungus is edible, although not as highly valued as other morels.

<i>Morchella punctipes</i> Species of fungus

Morchella punctipes is a species of morel fungus in the family Morchellaceae. It is native to North America, found widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains. It is edible when cooked.

Morchella meiliensis is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae native to China.

<i>Morchella anatolica</i> Species of fungus

Morchella anatolica is a rare species of ascomycete fungus in the family Morchellaceae. It was described as new to science in 2010 from southwest Anatolia, Turkey, where it grows on moss-covered stream beds in pine forests. An ancient climatic relict, M. anatolica is restricted to the Mediterranean basin and has also been documented in Spain, Cyprus and Greece, where it is sometimes encountered with trees of the Oleaceae family. Together with its sister-species Morchella rufobrunnea, they are the earliest diverging lineages in genus Morchella, forming a distinct clade that is basal in global morel phylogenies. Because of its phylogenetic position, M. anatolica has been crucial in inferring the historical biogeography of the genus, which is estimated to have emerged somewhere in the Mediterranean region in the late Jurassic.

<i>Morchella arbutiphila</i> Species of fungus

Morchella arbutiphila is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae (Ascomycota), described from the island of Cyprus in 2016. The species is notable for its elongated stipe, which is often longer than the cap's length, its ascospores which are larger than most other species of Morchella, and its highly specific ecological preferences. It is known only from igneous substrates of the Troodos mountains in Cyprus and from a single collection in the Aegean region of Turkey.

<i>Morchella disparilis</i> Species of fungus

Morchella disparilis is an Ascomycete fungus in the family Morchellaceae. Described as new to science in 2016, M. disparilis appears to be confined to the Mediterranean basin and is so far known from Cyprus, Greece and Spain. Its most striking feature is the exceptionally deep sinus, intermediate in depth between half-free morels of the Morchella semilibera clade and typical Distantes species.

<i>Morchella fluvialis</i> Species of fungus

Morchella fluvialis is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. It was described as new to science in 2014 by Clowez and colleagues, following collections from riparian forests in Spain under Alnus glutinosa, Ulmus minor and Eucalyptus camaldulensis, although previous collections from Turkey under Pinus nigra have also been reported. This species, which corresponds to phylogenetic lineage Mes-18, is very close to Morchella esculenta, from which it differs in its elongated cap with oblong pits and predominantly longitudinal ridges, pronounced rufescence, as well as its Mediterranean hygrophilic distribution along rivers and streams.

<i>Morchella dunalii</i> Species of fungus

Morchella dunalii is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae (Ascomycota). A widespread species in the Mediterranean basin, M. dunalii is so far known from the Balearic islands, the islands of Corsica and Cyprus, France, Spain and Turkey, where it appears to be abundant. It fruits very early in the season on calcareous soil, usually in association with the Aleppo pine, Calabrian pine and holm oak.

Morchella exuberans is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae (Ascomycota). It was described as new to science in a 2012 study by Clowez and corresponds to phylogenetic lineage Mel-9. Morchella capitata, described by Kuo and colleagues later in the same year, is a synonym of this taxon.

<i>Morchella sceptriformis</i> Species of fungus

Morchella sceptriformis is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae (Ascomycota). It was described as new to science in a 2012 study by Clowez, and corresponds to phylogenetic lineage Mes-3. Morchella virginiana, described later in the same year by Kuo and colleagues, is conspecific to this taxon.

References

  1. ↑ Kuo M. (November 2012). "The Morchellaceae: True Morels and Verpas" . Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  2. ↑ O'Donnell K, Rooney AP, Mills GL, Kuo M, Weber NS, Rehner SA (2011). "Phylogeny and historical biogeography of true morels (Morchella) reveals an early Cretaceous origin and high continental endemism and provincialism in the Holarctic". Fungal Genetics and Biology. 48 (3): 252–65. doi:10.1016/j.fgb.2010.09.006. PMID   20888422. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kuo M, Dewsbury DR, O'Donnell K, Carter MC, Rehner SA, Moore JD, Moncalvo JM, Canfield SA, Stephenson SL, Methven AS, Volk TJ (2012). "Taxonomic revision of true morels (Morchella) in Canada and the United States". Mycologia. 104 (5): 1159–77. doi:10.3852/11-375. PMID   22495449. S2CID   45219627.
  4. ↑ Kuo M. (2005). Morels. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. p. 179. ISBN   978-0-472-03036-1.
  5. ↑ Richard F, Bellanger JM, Clowez P, Hansen K, O'Donnell K, Urban A, Sauve M, Courtecuisse R, Moreau PA (2015). "True morels (Morchella, Pezizales) of Europe and North America: evolutionary relationships inferred from multilocus data and a unified taxonomy". Mycologia. 107 (2): 359–82. doi: 10.3852/14-166 . PMID   25550303.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Arora D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi . Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. pp.  790–1. ISBN   978-0-89815-169-5.
  7. ↑ McCrae, Adam (2022-04-02). "How to Find Morel Mushrooms in the City: A Breakdown on Landscape Morels!". Mushroom Marauder. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  8. 1 2 Kuo M. (October 2012). "Morchella importuna". MushroomExpert.com. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  9. ↑ Taşkın H; Büyükalaca S; Hansen K; O'Donnell K (2012). "Multilocus phylogenetics analysis of true morels (Morchella) reveals high levels of endemics in Turkey relative to other regions of Europe". Mycologia. 104 (2): 446–61. doi:10.3852/11-180. PMID   22123659. S2CID   207685509.
  10. ↑ Du X-H; Zhao Q; O'Donnell K; Rooney AP; Yang ZL (2012). "Multigene molecular phylogenetics reveals true morels (Morchella) are especially species-rich in China". Fungal Genetics and Biology. 49 (6): 455–69. doi:10.1016/j.fgb.2012.03.006. PMID   22503770.
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