Sweet Vitriol

In Which We Find Morels And Identify Them Correctly

by Luminiferous

We are not mushroom experts. I’ll relay some of what we’ve learned, and how we identified the mushrooms we found in the park today, but if you’re going to go mushroom hunting yourself for the first time, my strong advice is that you do so with your own local mushroom society, or with an actual mycologist. You don’t want to end up eating a bad mushroom.

We went mushroom hunting today in a park in Pittsburgh. These few weeks are the only time morels will grow on the East Coast. On our walk through the trails, we kept our eyes out for dying elms and tulip poplars. Morels will pop up near those trees inside of a twenty foot radius.

We saw plenty of signs of morel season — apple blossoms, garlic mustard blossoms, and may apples. So, we knew we’d find some good mushrooms if we kept looking. They can really hide, especially under leaves, but once you spot one, you’re likely to find a bunch.

We found three different kinds of morels on this trip, yellows, blacks or greys, and half-frees. The yellows and blacks have the typical morel cap. The half-frees have a cap with parallel ridges, which unlike the other morels is not attached to the shaft fully. It’s half free, hence the name. These morels are also known in the parlance of our obscene times as peckerheads.

We made sure to cut them off with a knife, and not just rip them out of the ground. We want the mycelium to stay healthy in the park so that this patch of morels might be there next year.

Now, how can we be sure that our morels are true morels and not fakes? One important thing to check is to cut them in half and look inside. Morels have a totally hollow interior. If your mushroom has a cottony middle, or has several chambers, it’s a fake. Don’t eat it!

True morels have either a fully attached cap, or a half attached cap. If the cap is mostly free, it’s probably not a morel. There are a few species such as Verpa bohemica and Verpa conica which look like a half-free, but whose caps are completely free. If you find one, it’s a fake. Don’t eat it!

In general, if you’re not sure, don’t eat it! And learn from an expert. Almost every city has a mycological society. They exist to help you find mushrooms safely. Ask them!

Now that we’re home, we’re going to make sure we wash and cook them or dry them before we eat them. It’s probably not a good idea to eat wild mushrooms raw. You never know what might be living in them!

Posted by Luminiferous on April 30th, 2008 filed in Nature, mushrooms