Life Cycle of the Common Morel Mushroom

Mushroom Life Cycle

• A simplified overview of the typical mushroom life cycle, according to Master Gardener Paula Pratt, starts with spores dropping from mushrooms’ caps. A spore germinates into many hyphae, which are threadlike structures that form the mycelium, “rooting” it through the ground or other growing surface. When the mycelium forms its “fruit,” it produces the cap we recognize as a mushroom.

Morel Characteristics

• Morels are one mushroom species that eludes easy cultivation, apparently because they include an extra stage in their life cycle, according to Thomas J. Volk, a University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse biologist. After forming the mycelium, morels form a sclerotium, which helps the morel survive the winter. In spring, however, the sclerotium may create a secondary mycelium rather than a fruiting body.

Conditions Favoring Fruiting

• In nature, factors such as temperature, humidity, rainfall and soil chemistry may stimulate morels to produce fruiting bodies, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The process of reliably getting morels to fruit in cultivation is so complex that it involves patents, says Volk.