Although widely considered edible, if incorrectly prepared, consumption of the mushroom may lead to poisoning in susceptible individuals; symptoms include gastrointestinal upset and lack of muscular coordination.

The species was first described in the scientific literature by the Czech physician and mycologist Julius Vincenz von Krombholz in 1828, under the name Morchella bohemica.

[3] Ptychoverpa bohemica is a synonym that was published by Frenchman Jean Louis Émile Boudier in his 1907 treatise on the Discomycetes of Europe;[4] the name is still occasionally used, especially in European publications.

[5] Boudier believed that the large, curved ascospores and the rare and short paraphyses were sufficiently distinct to warrant a new genus to contain the single species.

[10][11] The specific epithet bohemica refers to Bohemia (now a part of the Czech Republic),[12] where Krombholz originally collected the species.

[14] Ptychoverpa is derived from the Ancient Greek ptyx (genitive form ptychos), meaning "fold", layer", or "plate".

[15] The cap of this fungus (known technically as an apothecium) is 2 to 4 centimetres (3⁄4 to 1+5⁄8 inches) in diameter by 2 to 5 cm (3⁄4 to 2 in) long, with a conical or bell shape.

"[21] This response to the stimulus of light is significant because it permits a fruit body to point and later discharge its asci towards open spaces, thus increasing the chances that the spores will be dispersed by wind.

[20] In Europe, the fungus is widely distributed, and has been collected from Austria,[26] the Czech Republic,[27] Denmark,[26] Finland,[28] Germany,[29] Norway,[30] Poland,[31] Russia, [32] Romania, Slovenia,[26] Spain,[26] Sweden,[33] and Ukraine.

[38] A study of carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios indicated that Verpa bohemica is saprobic, that is, obtaining nutrients from decomposing organic matter.

[41] The fruit bodies serve as a habitat for breeding dipterans (flies), including Porricondyla media, Pegomya geniculata, and Trichocera annulata.

[43] Symptoms include gastrointestinal upset and lack of muscular coordination, similar to the effects reported by some individuals after consuming the false morel species Gyromitra esculenta.