Very often edible mushrooms are similar to poisoned ones, and it can be difficult to distinguish them even to a seasoned mushroom picker. For example, morels have a number of similarities with the lines, and they are often confused, collecting in one basket. We will talk about the differences of morels and lines in this article.
Morel ordinary: description
Morel (Latin Morchella esculenta) is a mushroom from the class of marsupials and the family of the same name. It is one of the largest mushrooms in the family. The height can reach 6-20 cm. In weight - up to 500 g.
It has a fleshy elongated, usually egg-like, wrinkled (from the fossa-cells) cap, which is 3 to 7 cm in diameter, 3-8 in diameter. It can be painted in different colors: yellow, gray, brown, etc. Older members have darker hats. The legs have a cylindrical shape. It is tightly connected to the cap. Its length is 3-9 cm, thickness is 1.5-3 cm. The color of the leg of a young mushroom is white, the older ones are yellowish, creamy. Visually it seems that the morel hat and leg have the same length.
Did you know? In 1974, a morel at the legislative level was proclaimed the official mushroom of the state of Minnesota (USA).
In a section a mushroom light. Its flesh is tender, fragile, it crumbles easily when touched.
You can meet him throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Usually it grows alone, rarely can grow in groups. Chooses bright spots and fertile soil. It can grow in forests and in grassy areas, sandy areas, in vegetable gardens.
It grows from mid-April to late March.
The most popular and safe mushrooms are champignons. Familiarize yourself with the methods of champignon cultivation and the technology of cultivating them at home.
Most common species:
- edible (ordinary) - Morchella esculenta;
- conic - Morchella conica;
- tall - Morchella elata;
- steppe - Morchella steppicola.
The morel giant is the most similar with the lines.
Learn about the beneficial properties of honey agaric, as well as how to distinguish between edible and inedible specimens.
Edible or not
If you are interested in the question, morel mushroom - edible or not, then its can be eatenIt has a pleasant taste and almost no smell. Treats conditionally edible mushrooms entering the third category. They contain hydrozin, a toxic substance, in small concentrations.
It can be eaten after boiling for at least 10-15 minutes or dried. 
Read also about edible and poisonous species of the syrrozhkah family of mushrooms.
How not to confuse morels with lines
These two mushrooms are very similar to each other, and they are easy to confuse. Meanwhile, eating raw lines could be fatal, as they are fatal. poisonous mushroomscontaining strong toxin - gyromitrin. Its quantity will depend on the place of growth of the line and its age.
There is no unequivocal opinion as to whether the edible mushroom line or not when used after cooking. There are suggestions that no treatment can help remove poison from the body. It is also believed that it can be eaten after cooking.
Important! Eating fried, but not boiled lines, or broth, in which they were cooked, can lead to severe poisoning affecting the central nervous system, liver, gastrointestinal tract, as well as fatal outcome. Cooked lines should be used with caution. Substances that they contain, after heat treatment can be carcinogenic.
The fruit body of this fungus is very similar to the structure of the brain or walnut. The cap has the shape of an irregular roundness, in a diameter of 2-10 cm. It is all riddled with convolutions and connected at the edges with the leg.
Look like morels and stitches in nature, you can see in the photo. 
We advise you to familiarize yourself with the varieties of edible mushrooms: volnushkami, pigs and their species, chanterelles, mokhovikov, podgruzdkami.
Let's try to figure out what is the difference between morels and lines:
- If you take a good look, you can see that the head of the first one is usually conical, and in the second it looks like a human brain.
- Morels tend to protrude well from the ground. Their leg is completely open. Leg at the lines goes to the ground or forest floor. It is almost invisible.
- When looking at these two mushrooms, one gets the impression that the first (morel) seems to be stretching upward (both the cap and the leg are elongated), and the second - on the contrary, to the ground: it is squat, the leg is wide and extends downwards.
- Morel in the middle is hollow, the line is filled with winding pulp.
- Usually the lines are much larger than morels.
- Morels have a less pronounced mushroom smell than their inedible counterpart.
It will be useful for beginning mushroom pickers to learn what mycelium and mycorrhiza are.
When to collect morels
As for where the morels grow and when they should be collected, the collection process can be started from the end of April. Although at this time they are still tasteless, and they did not have a mushroom flavor. Only in May, they become strong, fragrant and very appetizing.
Where to collect
You can meet these mushrooms:
- in forests (coniferous, mixed), on forest edges and along roads, in well-lit places, clearings;
- in the gardens;
- at the site of fires;
- in city parks;
- in the gardens.
Learn more about the types, beneficial properties and harvesting of white mushrooms.
It can grow on fertile and sandy, sandy sandy soil. 
Finding them is not so easy, since the cap often merges with the color of dry, yellow grass.
We advise you to read about the types of wetlands (aspen, black), the beneficial and harmful properties of these mushrooms, as well as methods of harvesting for the winter.
Precautionary measures
As morels, and lines should be used with caution and only after cooking. At the slightest suspicion that some kind of mushroom has not been in your basket of a mushroom picker, better to throw and do not risk health. 
Important! If you are fond of mushroom picking, then you should always have activated charcoal, salt or mustard on hand to help with the first symptoms of poisoning, as well as a telephone for an emergency first-aid call.
Boiling lines should be done with the window open, since during cooking the poison will evaporate. For the same reason, do not inhale a pair of boiling broth. Cooking should take place in an unclosed container.
Usually, among the first symptoms of poisoning, there are several mandatory ones: vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
They can occur at different times depending on the fungus eaten. Poisoning lines appear within 6-10 hours after their use.
Be careful and do not collect mushrooms unknown to you! The use of poisonous mushrooms (satanic mushroom, pale toadstool) is very dangerous for health and life!
In case of mild poisoning and the observation of the above symptoms, one should induce vomiting and, drinking a large amount of water with a dissolved teaspoon of salt or dry mustard, wash the stomach. It is possible to provoke vomiting by drinking a large amount of water and pressing two fingers on the root of the tongue. 
After washing should take pills activated carbon (one or two pieces per kilogram of human weight).
If severe poisoning occurs with loss of consciousness, an immediate emergency call is required.
Mushrooms should not be given to children, consumed by pregnant, lactating mothers, people with their individual intolerance, those who have problems with the work of the cardiovascular system.
Did you know? Morels in many countries are very much appreciated because of their taste. There are powers where he was proclaimed king of mushrooms. In America, there is even a society of morels, and there they are very expensive.
How to cook morels
And finally, a few words about how to prepare morels and stitch mushrooms.
The first rush into boiling salted water and boil for at least 15-20 minutes. After this, the broth is poured out, and the mushrooms are washed under running water. Then they can be cooked at will - fry, bake, pickle, freeze, etc. The boiling procedure is mandatory in all cases except further drying. You can dry without boiling. 
There are many recipes that include morels. This includes adding to noodles, buckwheat porridge, risotto, salads, and roasting in an oven in pots, and using it as a filling for sausages, cakes, pies. The only place where they are not advised to use these mushrooms is the first courses. There they lose their taste and flavor.
We advise you to read about boletus, their beneficial properties and methods of preparation.
Stitches need to boil always. Before cooking, they must be crushed with a knife. Per kilo of mushrooms will require 6 liters of water, per 100 g - at least 2 liters. In boiling water you need to pour a pinch of baking soda. Then put the mushrooms in there. After 15-20 minutes, drain the water, rinse the mushrooms well. It is advisable to boil them again.
To make the lines safer, they need to be dried for a month. With the evaporation of moisture and most of the toxins. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to distinguish between edible morels from inedible lines, even knowing their signs. If you even doubt a bit, a good mushroom is poisonous in front of you, better get rid of it in order to avoid serious consequences. In any case, raw mushrooms for food is strictly prohibited.
