Yard work: morel mushroom

Self-tutoring about wild plants and fungi: the tutor mentions a find.

Visiting the compost today, I noticed a shiny black thing with numerous odd-shaped lobes. Nearby, a second one presented. I bent down to examine one.

I assumed it a mushroom by its wide, grey, buttressed stalk. The whole thing looked gross. I’ve seen nothing similar.

Apparently it might be a morel mushroom, Helvellas type. It’s proximal to a Douglas fir, which is a habitat they’re meant to like.

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