Most of the westside, trillium timed, cottonwood beneathing "morels" are false morels. Their edibility is iffy, as they contain a liver toxin with cumulative effects. Individual reactions to the toxin vary. Experts recommend par boiling false morels and pouring off the water before eating the mushrooms. I gathered and consumed false morels for a couple years; not a favorite.

Springtime is a great time to go wandering in the woods, and hunting mushrooms is a good excuse to be out there. Eastside or westside, true morels will usually be found in burned over locations; areas as large as the site of a forest fire, or as small as a campfire. Three of my relatives lost their homes in last year's Carlton Complex fire. It's a micro-slim silver lining, but they expect the morel gathering to be excellent this spring.

This site has some good info and images of the morel mushrooms: http://www.michiganmorels.com/morels2.shtml#verpa