Morel - Amigasatake

An edible mushroom of the Ascomycete fungus family, Morelaceae family. It consists of two parts, the head and the stem, and is 5 to 8 cm tall. The head is a pale, dirty brown color with an irregular basket-like depression, fragile flesh, and hollow inside. The stem is cylindrical with a slight downward swelling. The ascus is cylindrical and formed on the inside of the depression in the head, containing eight colorless, oval-shaped spores in a row. It is a spring mushroom that grows in April on the ground in woods or under trees in gardens, among the grass. It is distributed worldwide. It is not customary to eat it in Japan, but in Europe and the United States, especially in France, it is known as morel and is prized as a first-class edible mushroom in French cuisine. In English, it is called morel. There are many species in the Morel genus, and the one with a slightly elongated depression at the head and a ridge separating the depression that runs almost vertically is M. conica Fr., which grows to a height of over 10 centimeters. The one with a thick, long stem is M. crassipes Pers. Both are edible and commonly seen. There are no similar poisonous mushrooms.

[Imaseki Rokuya]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

子嚢(しのう)菌類、チャワンタケ目アミガサタケ科の食用キノコ。頭部と茎の2部からなり、高さ5～8センチメートル。頭部は淡い汚土色で、不規則な形の籠目(かごめ)状のくぼみがあり、もろい肉質で、内部は空洞。茎はやや下膨れの円柱状をなす。子嚢は円筒形で、頭部のくぼみの内面に形成され、その中に8個の無色で楕円(だえん)形の胞子を1列に収める。春のキノコで、4月ごろ雑木林の地上や、庭の木の下などの草に混じって生える。分布は世界的。日本では食用にする習慣はないが、欧米とくにフランスではモリーユmorilleの名で親しまれ、第一級の食用キノコとしてフランス料理で珍重される。英語ではモレルmorel。アミガサタケ属には種類が多く、頭部のくぼみがやや縦長で、くぼみを仕切る稜線(りょうせん)がほぼ縦に走るものがトガリアミガサタケM. conica Fr.で、高さ10センチメートル以上になる。茎が太くて長いものがアシブトアミガサタケM. crassipes Pers.である。ともに食用で、普通にみられる。類似の毒キノコはない。

［今関六也］

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