Anybody finding morels?

[ProStaffSteve]

Wanted to bubble this post to the top, in Utah for the first time. It’s been raining off & on all week. Last weekend & first part of of this week gf & I plugged 35 miles on trails. Found one dry black morel already picked & left by another person. Wondering a few things, what sort of elevation should I hunt for later season mushrooms? Is it flat-out too late. In MN it would be. What sort of trees am I hunting? In MN it was all dead elms, apple & other, no oak. What are red flags? Not afraid of miles but im only here through June so I’d love to figure it out & google hasn’t helped a damn

 

[Iowafarmer]

I’ll take oysters over morels you can pick em by the bushel and they come through out the summer new flush of em any time you get a good rain

 

[ProStaffSteve]

I’ll take oysters over morels you can pick em by the bushel and they come through out the summer new flush of em any time you get a good rain

Hmmm. Yes, back in MN I clean up on golden oysters. I’ll say too for others reading, they are the unsung hero’s of mycology. They are an invasive that tastes better than the original bs. If any new hunter finds them drop a pic of them as a clump sitting somewhere & their underside. They have one look-a-like that isn’t great for noobs. The above photo is a good example DONT wanna find them on/near the ground. But I still wanna find black morels… the chase.

 

[MightyWhitey]

I’ll take oysters over morels you can pick em by the bushel and they come through out the summer new flush of em any time you get a good rain

Do you have a pic of the underside?

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Do you have a pic of the underside?

Do you have a pic of the underside?

So google “golden oysters”. Typically they grow on elms (so morels can be around the same tree). Elms are the most common non-oak tree in the Midwest.

Regarding undersides, these are not your typical grocery store mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms have true gills w trending down the entirety of their stem. You should look for mushrooms at least a foot off the ground up in a tree. Also you wanna eat the younger ones not covered in fruit flies… The red flag being jack-o-lantern mushrooms which are distinct from golden oysters in every way, but they are yellow. If you google both, you’ll start to understand the difference. Jack’s like cut-off stumps and buried in dirt wood. I’m on this website once a day+ so if you have questions, document, put mushroom in the fridge, and send pics over

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Here is a guide to MN mushrooms. It will apply to surrounding states but these are mushrooms worth eating. Use google for photos:

Morels - duh easy to identify, look alike: false morel (f***ed up looking red morel), mostly in early spring (May) around dead elms & 1000 other locations.

Golden Oysters - great eating, invasive, so take as much as you want. Grows on trees typically dying off elms. Easily spotted from far away in community parks, backyards. Look alike: jack - o - lantern (spring, summer, fall post rain)

Chicken of the woods - great eating but varies from species to species. Bright orange & yellow. Grows on dead, dying oaks and some elms. Grows in “fans” or large puffy leaves. Does not have gills of any kind. No stem of any kind. (Spring or fall after rain mostly, some summer) - no noteable look-a likes.

Lobster mushrooms -great eating! this one is a tricky mushroom to understand. Bright orange mushroom. No gills, hard to the touch and found on the ground. (Mid July-end of September). Basically, they show up where you find other traditional few inch wide mushrooms. For me, the brainered lakes area hiking trails. But I’ve found them in hot-beds across the state. Send pics and we will identify easily. Might be look - a -likes for beginners but really easy for a little experience.

Hen of the woods - great eating! Related to oak trees, not a pro at finding this one. They are large brown-grey masses of “fans” like the chicken of the woods but a very unassuming color. Just natural colors. It’s a large mushroom. Grows on the forest floor, typically surrounding the base of oak trees. Imo they have been picked over in most areas. (Fall mostly)

Chanterelles - good not great. these ones start to get a bit tricky. Essentially, primarily small-ish yellow ground mushrooms. Don’t prefer specific trees, love shady woods (kinda uncommon trait) for edible mushrooms. (late July-end of Oct) mostly after rain. Very fun to hunt. Easy to mistake, so document them well & don’t eat mushrooms you don’t know 1,000% what they are.

Puff ball, - 5/10 on taste. big white round balls. Don’t eat them if not white. Don’t eat them if they aren’t bigger than a softball.

Pheasants back - 1/10 on taste, addressing bc noobs find these and it turns them off to wild mushrooms. They look very pretty, found across the state in abundance. No look alike, but I leave all of them in the woods

 

[NCTrees]

Wanted to bubble this post to the top, in Utah for the first time. It’s been raining off & on all week. Last weekend & first part of of this week gf & I plugged 35 miles on trails. Found one dry black morel already picked & left by another person. Wondering a few things, what sort of elevation should I hunt for later season mushrooms? Is it flat-out too late. In MN it would be. What sort of trees am I hunting? In MN it was all dead elms, apple & other, no oak. What are red flags? Not afraid of miles but im only here through June so I’d love to figure it out & google hasn’t helped a damn

I can’t speak for Utah but here you want to be in the white fir zone, say 4000 - 5500’. I’ll find boletes in the lower pine areas but almost never morels. Takes a week or so after rain for morels to come up. Go to recent fires or logged areas. They do well in disturbed areas. There is some humidity / temperature variant that causes them to come up and I always miss it.

 

[ProStaffSteve]

I can’t speak for Utah but here you want to be in the white fir zone, say 4000 - 5500’. I’ll find boletes in the lower pine areas but almost never morels. Takes a week or so after rain for morels to come up. Go to recent fires or logged areas. They do well in disturbed areas. There is some humidity / temperature variant that causes them to come up and I always miss it.

Interesting! See, there is so much nuance. And it can be hard to tell how far off-base you really are. I used to hit in in MN regularly. Over time I’ve figured out walleye fishing is at its best for the year, mushrooms just don’t fit the bill over ripping hundreds of eyes

 

[ProStaffSteve]

here are some pics of oyster, morel, lobster, chanterelle, old morel, old morel, chanterelle

 

[Iowafarmer]

So google “golden oysters”. Typically they grow on elms (so morels can be around the same tree). Elms are the most common non-oak tree in the Midwest.

Regarding undersides, these are not your typical grocery store mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms have true gills w trending down the entirety of their stem. You should look for mushrooms at least a foot off the ground up in a tree. Also you wanna eat the younger ones not covered in fruit flies… The red flag being jack-o-lantern mushrooms which are distinct from golden oysters in every way, but they are yellow. If you google both, you’ll start to understand the difference. Jack’s like cut-off stumps and buried in dirt wood. I’m on this website once a day+ so if you have questions, document, put mushroom in the fridge, and send pics over

Why do you say they should be a foot off the ground?

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Why do you say they should be a foot off the ground?

Just because beginners could mistake them for jack-o-lanterns or some other bad mushroom. Oysters always grow on wood. In my experience, typically higher up. TONS of mushrooms grow on stumps and the base of trees, lots of those ones aren't food.

 

[Iowafarmer]

Just because beginners could mistake them for jack-o-lanterns or some other bad mushroom. Oysters always grow on wood. In my experience, typically higher up. TONS of mushrooms grow on stumps and the base of trees, lots of those ones aren't food.

thanks

 

[brotherman]

Colorado had a great mushroom season last year...hoping for more of the same

 

[manitou1]

Is it still possible for morels in WY or is it too late?
Moved here three seasons ago and still no luck... but I hear the mushroom "season" here is later than our prior state of residence.

Man we miss it!

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Colorado had a great mushroom season last year...hoping for more of the same

Is it still possible for morels in WY or is it too late?
Moved here three seasons ago and still no luck... but I hear the mushroom "season" here is later than our prior state of residence.

Man we miss it!

In Utah till the EOM. In MN, morel season is done end of May almost every year. I fear this season came and went in may for Utah, lack of moisture and hot weather didn't give much of a window. The trees here suck too. Mostly Oak shrubbery and Maple trees. Had I been here in May I'd have hiked river beads for Cottonwoods trees & blond morels...

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Found some expired half free morels! Filled with some other mushroom’s mycelium so I opted to leave em in the woods.

 

[wesfromky]

Not a bad morning -

 

[Cameron.25]

Any tips for finding them in the blue mountains in NE Oregon?

Not the same area but further northeast I've had good luck in recent burns and sometimes near creeks. I used to hunt the fossil and heppner unit and don't ever remember seeing any. I don't look too hard for them though

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Beautiful!!! I'm in Boise now & back to square one regarding my fungi friends. I am going bear hunting for a week and hope this yields a find

 

[Ucsdryder]

Morels don’t effing exist. They’re no different than unicorns or Bigfoot. People claim to see them, but I don’t believe it!