Described as new to science in 2012, it occurs in the montane forests of western North America, including California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

The color of the morel is yellow to tan when young, but the cap ridges become brown to black in maturity or when dried.

[2] According to Michael Kuo, who coauthored the species description, the morel should have been named Morchella crassistipa, as it was previously described by Snyder in 1938, from collections made in Washington.

However, molecular analysis determined that Snyder's type collection contained two distinct species, rendering the validity of the taxon dubious.

The flesh is whitish, measuring 1–2 mm thick in the hollow cap; it becomes layered and chambered, particularly in the base of the stipe.

[2] Morchella snyderi can be distinguished from similar North American morels by differences in ecological and morphological features.

M. tridentina resembles young specimens of M. snyderi, but the ridges of the caps of the former species do not darken in maturity, and it has smaller ascospores, measuring 20–29 by 14–19 μm.

Another potential lookalike, M. brunnea, has a browner fruit body color in young specimens, and a stipe that is not lacunose.