morels

I went out by the pump yesterday to dump out some bleach and water, and as I dumped it I saw—ohmigod—a morel underneath the nasty stream of water. This is the much prized mushroom that you don't dare rinse even in fresh water because "it ruins the delicate flavor". I knew it was a morel because a previous owner had mentioned that they grew in the yard. And also because (literary name-dropping here) I had hunted morels one spring at an annual New City party thrown by noted intellectuals Diana and Lionel Trilling. Still, I wanted to check that it was not the similar but more poisonous false morel. On the web I found the following: Gyromitra esculenta has a solid stipe whereas those of true morels (Morchella spp.) are hollow. Check.