Mushroom ID

[CatyMae n Steve]

Anybody know if these are morels? Walked a blackberry vine to the burn pile and found these growing from the base of it...I called Steve over and neither of us have ever seen anything like these...from the pics I've found on the internet, I think they might be morels...

http://www.c-brats.com/albums/CatyMae/P4210002.sized.jpg

[AstoriaDave]

Both morrels and false morrels are found in the NW. Both are edible, someone told me. I'd get someone who is skilled at IDing these before considering eating them. False morrels are found in quantity near the bases of cottonwoods on the dredge spoil islands in the Columbia, FWIW.

[Chris Bulovsky]

Not a morrel. Close but no . In Wisconsin they have deep ridges on top. Kind of sponge looking.

Please post what you find out.

Chris

[TyBoo]

It kinda looks like the remains of a chocolate Easter bunny that got left out in the rain.

(Sorry - didn't have enough pole holders on the boat so we had to run home and check the CBs while we were here.)

[Sea Wolf]

Look like morels to me!

However, the one thing they taught us about morels and mushrooms (as well as other forms of fungi) in school (biology minor), was that there were lots of varieties and look-alikes in this fraternity of fungus characters.

Thus the admonition not to eat any unless you were absolutely sure of their type and safety for consumption.

Many of the mushrooms and morels contain alkaloids which cause serious poiisioning, including permanent liver damage and shorter term mental disorientation and hallucinations.

Still, there are those that eat them.

Local groups of residents who know what their resident mushroom and morel types look like, where to find them, and have proven over the years that they are safe to eat, find them a good and very tasty food source. Many say that some of the morels are far better tasting than any of the mushrooms.

But the one professor who knew them best said she wouldn 't ever eat any of the wild grown mushrooms or morels unless someone with a Ph.D. in Mycology (fungus study) certified they were safe.

Bon apetit?


morel

Joe.

[john schuler]

Looks like the kind that grow after fires in Montana. I've picked and eaten
lots of them. But Sea Wolf is right about being safe than sorry. Better you
pick a 5 gallon bucket full and send to me. I'll let you know how they are
to eat.

john schuler

[jimandlaurie]

Nothing like the spirit of volunteerism from the C-Brats.
Now how can ya beat offers like that?! Aren't ya glad ya asked?
As for the 'shrooms ya got me, way beyond my expertise, which is none,since we were always told to feed'em to the dog first...

[CatyMae n Steve]

Well, neither of us is interested in the life insurance money right now, so they'll just stay there and grow or die...WE ain't eatin 'em! I agree on the bunny left in the rain theory -- I thought they were burnt up corn cobs when I first saw them...but we haven't had any corn on the cob! Shall I ship them to Montana? ar ar ar

[Patrout]

Morels come in a couple of different styles. Both of the photos in this thread show true morels. Delicious when floured and sauteed in butter. There are quite a few false morel varieties out there, too. I think most of them are dangerous to eat. Some of them look a lot like the true varieties and some of them look just plain wierd. It's best to spend the $$ to get a really good mushroom ID guidebook. The book will explain how to tell if they are really true morels. If you doget a book, you will find yourself seeing mushrooms that you have never noticed before. This is an amazing branch of the plant family tree. It's full of colors and shapes that many of us walk right past when we are in the fields and the woods. There's even a variety that looks like a cauliflower that is great tasting.

When I first started collecting mushrooms to eat, I went for about two years before I tasted any. Then I started with a couple of varieties that were [u]nearly[/u] foolproof (chanterelles and meadow mushrooms with the pink gills.) Even now, if there's even the slightest doubt, I leave'em right there.
I now pick shaggy manes, porcini and the morels along with the first two.

There is a local mycology society near you or at the closest university. Like C-Brats, most of these people are avid about their hobbies and they can give you positive identifications if you show them what you have.

Be careful and enjoy.

Pat

[Patrout]

I just noticed you are in Jefferson OR. I used to live in Lebanon. The mushroom people at OSU are pretty active. I think they used to put on a yearly workshop. The mushrooms you have really like to grow in burn pile areas. Up here in Alaska, the commercial pickers come up and scour the areas where there have been forest fires the previous year. This is a big money activity for the hunting and gathering crowd.

Morels grow in the spring. Most of the other edibles in Oregon come out in the fall when the rains start. In the Stayton and Silverton areas you may even find aging flower children still walking hunched over in old hay fields looking for the psychedelic varieties when autumn comes.

Now that has to be a lot more information than you ever wanted to know.


Pat

[CatyMae n Steve]

[oldgrowth]

[catdogcat]

Those look like the real deal to me. I like to pick them, then cut them open to look for bugs and such. When you cut them lengthwise they should always have a neat HOLLOW center. Getting really close to season around here on the Peninsula.

[Sea Wolf]

catdogcat-

So for you the moral

of the morel story is

slice, check twice, de-lice, and

butter now than nather?

[catdogcat]

Ha . You crack me up.