Morels - (Morchella sceptriformis)
Habitat: Growing on the side of a dirt road surrounded by some very light leaf litter under Tulip poplars (Liriodendron tulipifera) and Loblolly pines (Pinus taeda). Etowah County, Alabama. April 5, 2018.
Soil type: Hartsells fine sandy loam / Linker-Townley complex
Pileus: Egg-shaped with irregular grooves, pale brown to gray. Possible reddish bruising (?)
Stipe: cream to pale yellow, slightly broader towards base.
Flavor: mildly nutty/earthy
''Morchella sceptriformis'' is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae . It was described as new to science in a 2012 study by Clowez, and corresponds to phylogenetic lineage ''Mes''-3. ''Morchella virginiana'', described later in the same year by Kuo and colleagues, is conspecific to this taxon.
This putatively endemic North American morel is so far known from North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi and Virginia, where it is found under the American tulip tree .
