Kingdom Fungi Class Pezizomycetes Family Morchellaceae Rank Species | Division Ascomycota Order Pezizales Genus Morchella | |
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Similar Morchella punctipes, Morchella diminutiva, Morchella angusticeps, Morchella importuna, Morchella prava | ||
Morchella americana is a species of fungus in the Morchellaceae family native to North America. Described as new to science in 2012, it is common east of the Rocky Mountains in a range stretching from Ontario south to Texas, Arkansas and South Carolina. In western North America, the species typically is found under hardwood trees in river bottoms, or with apple trees or ornamental ashes in urban settings. The specific epithet americana refers to its occurrence in North America.
In the Great Lakes region of eastern North America, the range of M. americana overlaps with M. cryptica, which cannot be reliably distinguished from M. americana without DNA sampling.
M. americana, identified as phylogenetic species "Mes-4", has also been found in Turkey, France, and Germany, but is suspected of having been introduced there from North America.
In 2014, Richard et al. clarified the taxonomic status of this species, retaining the name Morchella americana of Clowez (2012) over M. esculentoides.
