Has anybody found any wild mushrooms yet?

Is it that time for mushrooms yet?

We're heading out on Monday to scout for morels. Wet winter, wet spring so far, good prospects.

Bill/SFNM

Hi,

Monday night was a mushroom club meeting. While the ground temperatures are about right for morels, there hasn't been enough moisture.

Chicago Tribune's food section this week featured mushrooms. Joe McFarland, of the Department of Natural Resources who usually finds the first morel in Illinois every year, and Michael Kuo, who runs a morel tracking website, both said this is worst season they have ever witnessed. Joe McFarland keeps meticulous records where mushrooms can be found as well as the flora and fauna coinciding with these finds. According to the Trib article, Joe has done better than most though far less than normal. Joe McFarland will be speaking for the Chicago Foodways Roundtable on August 4th at Kendall College.

Illinois Mycological Association has a foray in the Kankakee area tomorrow. They were fretting they may not much because of the dryness. Of course all mushroom forays are hit and miss, so you go for the good company as well.

Next weekend is the Illinois Morel Championship in Henry, Illinois. I'm not going this year, though it will be interesting to see how many morels the champion finds.

Regards,

Cathy, I've looked around a few forest preserves in IL but never had any luck. I have my old stamping grounds in IN where I know how to find them. There's one spot that is very strange, producing a few Morels even late in the season.

I found what appears to be a morel in my front yard just 2 hours ago. Unfortuantely, it seems to be the only one.

Veloute wrote:I found what appears to be a morel in my front yard just 2 hours ago. Unfortuantely, it seems to be the only one.

Beware of the false morel, Gyrometra esculenta, which can be very toxic raw; some say to avoid it even when cooked.

Bill/SFNM

Cogito wrote:Cathy, I've looked around a few forest preserves in IL but never had any luck. I have my old stamping grounds in IN where I know how to find them. There's one spot that is very strange, producing a few Morels even late in the season.

Some years ago, a couple from mushroom club were retiring to New Mexico. They raffled off some of their mushroom souvenirs. The biggest prize was their reliable location for morels in Lincoln Park. You are very fortunate to have your reliable spot. Joe McFarland from the IL DNR is really great about documenting his mushroom locations.

Bill/SFNM wrote:Beware of the false morel, Gyrometra esculenta, which can be very toxic raw; some say to avoid it even when cooked.

These are not an issue in the Chicago area. While the Gyromitra esculenta looks like a brain on a stem, it is hefty and when cut in half is a solid mass. Whereas a morel cut in half is light weight and hollow inside. Those who mistakenly ID a Gyromatra esculenta often believe they won the morel sweepstakes because they are so generously sized.

There are people who eat Gyromitra esculenta, but it is a risk. Gyromitra esculenta's have hydrozine that is a component in jet fuel. The poisoning is not instantaneous, rather the hydrozine builds up in your system. Once you have reached a certain threshold, then you suffer from chronic health problems.

In Missouri, Gyromitra esculenta's are nicknamed 'Big Red' with some people actively seeking them out. There were some rumors people in Michigan were also eating them. A friend went to a diner to check this by making casual conversation. One waitress advised, "I personally will not eat them, though I do prepare them for my husband." Her recitation of this anecdote was snort coffee through your nose moment for my mushroom friends. I'm sure there are Illinois residents who hunt them, I just don't have a related anecdote for them!

Regards,

Today I went with Jack, my mushroom guru/mentor, and Jake, my mushroom hunting Labrador retriever, into the mountains to scout out some morel spots. We didn't expect to find much since it is a bit early, but did find a few beauties:





Rain is in the forecast for the next few days, so we'll head back perhaps in a week.

Bill/SFNM