Morchella purpurascens, the purple morel, is an ascomycete fungus in the family Morchellaceae. It was first described as a variety of Morchella elata by Emile Boudier in 1897,Boudier E. (1897). Révision analytique des morilles de France. Bull Soc Mycol Fr 13:130–150 based on a plate previously illustrated by Julius Vincenz von Krombholz.Krombholz JV von. 1834. Naturgetreue Abblidungen und Beschreibungen der essbaren, scha ̈dlichen und verda ̈chtigen Schwa ̈mme, Heift 3. G. Calve, Praha J, 36 p., pl. XV-XXII. It was then recombined as a distinct species in 1985 by Emile Jacquetant, and validated the following year by Jacquetant and Bon.Jacquetant E, Bon M. (1985). Typifications et mises au point nomenclaturales dans l’ouvrage ‘‘Les morilles’’ (de E. Jacquetant), Nature-Piantanida 1984. Documents Mycologiques 14:1. As with many other morel species, its taxonomical status remained for a long time a subject of debate, until an extensive phylogenetic and nomenclatural study in 2014 by Richard and colleagues confirmed this species' autonomy and matched it to phylogenetic lineage Mel-20.
The species is characterised by the pinkish or purplish colours on the cap of its young fruit bodies.
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