Morels?

[cdub]

We received a late snowfall last night, about 6 inches. On a trek through the woods I was surprised to find these mushrooms growing in a patch where the snow had melted. Are they morels? I am unfamiliar with this group of mushrooms. Can anyone tell from the photo if these are edible?

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Yup, those are the real thing! YUMMY!

 

[Lanmark]

Make sure the bottom edge of the brainy-looking cap is attached to the stem.

 

[SlipperFan]

I can taste them, fried in butter!

 

[smartie2000]

...I want, I've never tried any before (and I am a huge mushroom/fungi fan)
Where do I look for them?

 

[fbrem]

awesome find, wish they were still going here. I got my share this year though.

 

[cnycharles]

huh. I just went looking for the first time tonight after work; I didn't think maybe that it was time yet for them here, but if you found them up on a mountain in vermont, then maybe it is time, or just past. ... I was looking in a spot where there were tons of dead elms and an old orchard, but didn't see anything

http://www.northerncountrymorels.com/

 

[SlipperKing]

They look like the ones my grandpa always had us picking for him!

 

[Rick]

I can taste them, fried in butter!

They are awesome fried in butter.

I friend of mine who finds them by the bucket load says:

"They taste like the woods":drool::drool:

 

[Rick]

...I want, I've never tried any before (and I am a huge mushroom/fungi fan)
Where do I look for them?

I've heard they can be in both hilly areas and bottom lands, but the only places I've seen them in TN are in hilly, hard wood forest areas. All the places where I've seen them are pretty steep, and have been packed with Jack in the pulpit, trillium, and ticks.

 

[Scott Ware]

...Where do I look for them?

It's hard to pin down. This year I have collected morels from an area under a Douglas Fir tree that had a thick layer of forest duff, a sloping hillside out in the open at the base of some young alder trees, and near a dead and decaying big-leaf maple stump. All three locations had very different light and rain exposure.

Something I don't think anyone has mentioned - wash these little jewels THOROUGHLY. Those crevices can trap and hide tiny particles of foreign material such as soil and grit that will definitely compromise the dining experience!

 

[Paphman910]

You can tell if they are real if the hood of the cap is attached to the stem and it is hollow in the middle with no filamental fuzz.


Paphman910

 

[fbrem]

...I want, I've never tried any before (and I am a huge mushroom/fungi fan)
Where do I look for them?

don't know about your area but here the American elms, green ash, yellow poplar are the best, I pretty much hunt those trees, especially damaged/recently dead ones, and then find the shrooms. check out morelmushroomhunting.com there is some real good info on that site.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

In New York State we'd find them in any manner of deciduous forest, but indeed they do seem to do well under hickory species (Carya sp.), hence one name "hickory chickens". Boy, they are amazing when fried in butter, no kidding....manna from heaven!

 

[cnycharles]

I think I found some of my first ones tonight after work, after reading through some websites; my pictures are still loading to my computer but they were underneath a huge poplar tree in an area with lots of dead elms. It looks like they came out two days ago after some rain. There's another area nearby that has an old apple orchard and dead elms that I'd like to check out after the next warm spring rain.

Like rick said, I found my first tick of the year in this spot. It's a bit dry now, I think if I found any others it would be closer to a damp spot unless further up north/higher altitude.

I think they are 'yellows'. They are hollow, the cap is attached and they don't look like any of the false morel pictures I saw online.

Does anyone know if the fungi growing out of dead elms right about now are; are they conchs or mushrooms? (found online that they are conchs...)

 

[Rick]

In New York State we'd find them in any manner of deciduous forest, but indeed they do seem to do well under hickory species (Carya sp.), hence one name "hickory chickens". Boy, they are amazing when fried in butter, no kidding....manna from heaven!

The dryer, upland areas where we find them (near me) are dominated by hickory and oaks. In the lower wetter areas there's a lot more beech instead of oak. Overall its still pretty diverse, but I can see some association with the hickory's.

 

[NYEric]

Where's the tick!? I hate ticks!!

 

[cnycharles]

Where's the tick!? I hate ticks!!

I flicked the tick

 

[Rick]

Where's the tick!? I hate ticks!!

Ticks are :evil:bad this year.

I've found them in some places I'm not going to describe

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Ticks are :evil:bad this year.

I've found them in some places I'm not going to describe

And we thank you for that!