High Sierra Topix

How to Make Your Morel Harvest Successful

Griffin's Guide
Apr 6, 2015
http://griffinsguide.com/content/2015/0 ... ookCamping



With the 2015 Morel Mushroom harvest touted as the best season ever, we wanted to take a look to 2016 and put together a list of articles to help you maximize your haul.

For beginners, we always point people to Field & Stream’s article, A Beginner’s Guide to Hunting Morel Mushrooms. It is the go-to read to give you a complete overview of finding Morels.

Where to Look
Morels live in and on the edge of forested areas. Look for ash, aspen, elm, and oak trees, around which morels often grow. Early in the spring as the ground is warming, you’ll find them on south-facing slopes in fairly open areas. As the season progresses, go deeper into the woods and onto north-facing slopes.

They have tons of pictures of what...

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As early reports begin to trickle in on the boards, often people mention finding false morels or "reds." These are usually a form of Gyromitra brunnea or Gyromitra Caroliniana. Many people believe these to be actual morels. In fact, a few years ago, I saw an article in the paper showing a man holding a very large one (I think it weighed about 1 1/2 pounds) with the headline of something like giant morel. So even journalists often make the same mistake, but these are not true morels.

The question that everyone seems to ask me is whether or not these are edible. And at first I would reply with an adamant know and argue my case. However, after arguing my case for over a decade, I decided not to push it anymore. I do not eat them; however, I can see how any hunter, not having found a single morel, might be tempted to pick and eat false morels when they find a nice patch and nothing else.

There are two forms of mushrooms that often get mistaken for morels in Missouri. Gyromitras that I mentioned before and wrinkle cap verpas. Both can easily be discerned from true morels by cutting the stock lengthwise. If it is hollow it is a true morel. If it is hairy or has threadlike stuff inside it is a verpa. If it is solid or mainly solid with chambers, it is more than likely a Gyromitra. Since the verpas are not as common or at least harder to see and therefore less encountered, I won't talk about them. You can learn more about them at here

psykokid wrote:
Here's a couple that I pulled of my friends hauls last year from his instagram feed: