Morchella is distributed in Tibet, Yunnan and Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang.
Species classification:
1, Morchella esculenta: The cap is nearly spherical, oval to oval, 4- 10cm high and 3-6cm wide, with a blunt top and a pit like a sheep's belly on the surface. The pits are amorphous to nearly round, with a width of 4- 12mm, eggshell color to light yellowish brown, and light ribbed color, which cross irregularly. The stalk is nearly cylindrical, nearly white, hollow, smooth at the upper part, swollen at the base with irregular shallow grooves, 5-7cm long and about 2/3 as thick as the cap. Ascomycetes are cylindrical, (280-320) μ m× μ m. Spores are oval and colorless, and each ascocarp contains 8 spores, which are arranged in a single line. The top of the lateral filament is enlarged, with a thickness of12 μ m.
2. Morchella microphylla: The cap is narrow and conical, with a sharp top and a height of 2-5cm. The base is wide 1.7-3.3cm, and the pits are rectangular and eggshell-colored. Ribbed black, longitudinally arranged, connected by transverse veins. The stalk is ivory, nearly cylindrical, 3-5cm long, 1 1-20mm thick, with a flat upper part and a slight groove at the base. Ascaria (210-250) μ m× (15-20) μ m. Spores are arranged in a single line, (22-26) μ m× (12-14) μ m, and the top of lateral filament is enlarged, with a diameter of11μ m..
3. Morchella pinnatifida: The cap is long, nearly conical, with a sharp or slightly sharp tip, up to 5cm long and a diameter of 2.5cm. Pits are mostly rectangular, light brown, with light rib color, and are arranged longitudinally and connected by transverse veins. The stalk is white, 6cm long, and the diameter is about 2/3 of the base of the cap. The upper part is flat and the lower part has irregular grooves. Ascomycetes (250-300)μm×( 17-20)μm, spores arranged in a single line, (20-24) μ m× (12-15) μ m. The top of the lateral filament is enlarged, with a diameter of 9-12 μ m.
4. Morchella crassipes: the cap is nearly conical, about 7cm high and 5cm wide. The pits are nearly round, large and shallow, light yellow, thin ribs and irregularly intertwined. The stalk is stout, light yellow, about 10cm long, 5cm thick at the base, slightly grooved and tapering upward. Ascomycetes are cylindrical with spores150×18 μ m. Eight spores, arranged in a single line, oval and colorless, (22-25) μ m× (15-17) μ m. The lateral filaments are colorless and the top is swollen.
5. Morchella esculenta: The cap is conical to nearly conical, with a height of 17-33mm and a width of 8- 15mm. Pits are often long and light brown. Ribs are often arranged vertically, irregularly intertwined, and the color is lighter than the pits. The stalk is 15-25mm long, 5-8mm thick, nearly white or light yellow, and the base is often swollen with grooves. Ascomycetes are nearly cylindrical, with spores about 100× 16μm, and the spores are arranged in a single line, oval, (18-20) μ m× (10-1) μ m. The lateral filament is swollen at the top.