Morel Mushrooms

As I mentioned in the previous post, there’s a lot going on in the springtime. And one of the great things I love is morel mushrooms. They are true treasures to find, plus they taste so good.

We usually fry them up. I have experimented cooking them different ways. To me, they are the best battered and fried. I know that’s not the healthiest option but, it’s only for a month.

So far, this spring has been unusually warm and dry. A slow warm up is good and of course moisture is needed for mushrooms to grow. As of April, we have been in a cooler and wetter weather pattern. I expect to see them coming up any day now.

For Oklahoma, March was a strange one. We had record breaking heat waves followed by cold days. Now it seems a little more like spring.

Safety First

Before we go any further. Please be advised, if you are unsure about any mushroom. DON’T EAT IT!

There is an old saying in the mushroom hunting world. “There are Bold Mushroom Pickers, and there are Old Mushroom Pickers but there are No Old, Bold Mushroom Pickers.”

If you have never hunted mushrooms in the past and know someone that has. It might be a good idea to have them help you. Morels are easy to identify. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t hunt them. They are the only kind of mushrooms I will pick and eat.

I have heard about too many horror stories of people eating misidentified mushrooms. These people claim to be experts. The results are never good. No thanks!

If you have never ate a morel before, don’t go overboard by eating too many. That can be a hard thing to do since they taste so good. Be aware, that even edible mushrooms can cause problems to some individuals. Problems in the form of allergic reactions or intestinal issues.

Also, edibility relates to cooked mushrooms. Always cook morel mushrooms. That goes for a lot of other wild mushrooms. Even though some are considered edible, they are only edible when cooked.

Edibility of wild mushrooms

• Edible and Choice: Edible and taste good. Morels fall into this category.
• Edible: Safe to eat but doesn’t taste that good.
• Not Edible: Not really safe to eat. Could cause problems.
• Poisonous: Do not eat. There’s a good chance you’ll die.

When to look

One of the bad things about Morel Mushrooms is the limited time that they are available. Usually March and April is Morel season. The weather has a lot to do with this. You need day temps in the 60-70 degrees, and night temps around 40-50 degrees. And of course you need rain.

Nature gives us other clues on when to look for Morels. I hunt in Oklahoma, so I know what they are in my area. The red bud trees blooming can be an indicator. They are easy to spot this time of year due to the pink flowers.

Poke salad is a good one. Usually when it gets about 6-12 inches, the morels are popping up too. Except for this year. It has been very warm and dry. The poke salad doesn’t require the moisture that mushrooms do, so poke salad grows anyway.

If I’m fighting off aggressive ticks, I know that it’s not too early. It might be too late, but not too early in the year. I treat my clothes with permethrin. I still get some ticks on me even with it. They’re not as aggressive to latch on and I can usually find them before that happens. It’s always a good idea to check yourself often when you are in tick infested woods. I will tuck my pants into my hunting boots and tuck my shirt in as well.

Identification

Cap: Describing the cap of a morel is difficult. I have heard it described as a honeycomb. I don’t think this is a good description. A honeycomb has a consistent pattern. A morel doesn’t. Maybe the large texture of a sponge would be a good way to describe it. Odd shaped craters? There is holes, but not holes that go through it. The cap is hollow on the inside, like a shell.

The shape of the cap varies as well. I have seen them shaped like an oval or cone. What I have never seen in a morel is the characteristic mushroom shape. It always seems to run vertical to the stem.

Stem: The stem is hollow like the cap. It shouldn’t have anything in it, except maybe a bug or two. One interesting feature that I look for in the morel, is the stem attaches to the cap. Meaning, it doesn’t go through the cap and attach at to the roof of the cap. You can see what I mean by the illustration below. This is a cross section illustration

Where to Look

I always start by looking in low areas. Like washouts and creeks. Reading online, people find them around dead elms and ash trees. I have found them around elms and cottonwoods. Always in a wooded area, never out in the open sun. However, with that being said, it can be a small wood lot. It doesn’t have to be a vast wilderness.

For me, the biggest hotspots are around cedar trees. These cedars are alive and they have to be big enough to provide adequate shade. Last year, we had a very rainy spring. There’s this big cedar growing in our pasture. It grows near a terrace that catches a lot of rain water.

We found some of the biggest mushrooms growing around that. I can remember seeing them from a distance and thinking, “surely those aren’t mushrooms?” I was pleasantly wrong.

I usually start by searching low areas that tend to be wetter. Like creeks, washouts, and ponds. Next, I will find cedars and search around them. It doesn’t have to be right next to water either. I find them around cedars that are 15-20 yards away from the creek.

My best advice would be to know the area well. Mushroom hunting is just like hunting other things. Knowledge of the woods is your best bet. The good news is, if you find some in a particular area. More than likely, they will be there year after year. Eventually, you’ll learn what creek bottom holds mushrooms. The best trees to look for, and if all else fails. People will post what they find on Facebook. It doesn’t hurt to ask, they might tell you the missing piece of the puzzle that you’re missing.

Thanks for reading. See you next time

Bryan