The fruit bodies of
Morchella species, including
M. elata, are highly
polymorphic in appearance, exhibiting variations in shape, color and size; this has contributed to uncertainties regarding taxonomy. Within the black and yellow clades, there are dozens of individual species, many
endemic to individual continents or regions. This species-rich view is supported by studies in North America,
Western Europe,
Turkey,
Israel, the
Himalayas, and
China. The scientific name
Morchella elata was proposed by
Elias Magnus Fries from Sweden in 1822. DNA analysis in 2011 has shown North American black morels to be largely distinct from European species, therefore restricting the use of the
M. elata name to Europe. In 2012, Kuo et al. provided names for many of the North American black morels that may have been referred to as
M. elata in the past. However, in a subsequent study by Richard et al. (2014) proposing a unified taxonomy for the genus, it is suggested that Fries' original description of
Morchella elata may correspond to phylogenetic lineage
Mel-10, which has been since described from North America as
Morchella importuna, but later shown to have a widespread transcontinental distribution. The variety
M. elata var.
purpurescens, characterised by the purple- or pink-colored tinges of its ascocarps, is now considered to belong to a phylogenetically distinct lineage (Richard et al. 2014).
Eastern North America •
M. angusticeps •
M. septentrionalis Western North America •
M. brunnea •
M. capitata •
M. importuna •
M. septimelata •
M. sextelata •
M. snyderi •
M. tomentosa ==Description==