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Looks like the morels should get going around here in NE PA. Hot day on Wednesday, warm on Tuesday/Thursday, and rain during the past 36 hours with temps staying mild. This should get things going. I'll get out there within the next couple hours.

Made one of my annual road trips south of here on Wednesday. Not very many morels. The forest floor was pretty well cluttered with undergrowth and the leaves on the trees were fairly well grown. Looking at weather records this area had a brief warmup early in April. I think this caused the plants/trees to become active but was likely too early for the morels. Then it got kinda dry and chilly for awhile. For the morels in the healthy tulip poplar forests, timing is the name of the game...warmth/rainfall/trees. 

Did get a few nice photos of three different Morchella species; M. americana (formerly M. esculenta), M. diminutiva (Tulip Morels), and M. speptriformis (similar to M. diminutiva but "egg-shaped" cap and usually larger. 1535345980_MorchellaamericanaMD14-281.thumb.JPG.c745ba5743d2d306e6fce6fe1b438a36.JPG806959825_MorchelladiminutivaMD14-281.thumb.JPG.513c6d3829c039ec85c487361035f4ce.JPG81538060_MorchellasceptriformisMD14-281.thumb.JPG.86b8df1e7d05087d4099b70a5456d3af.JPG

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Nice haul foul hook.  " M. sceptriformis".  Been picken a lot of diminutiva the last couple years not being able to tell the difference. The rain has a second flush coming up. Couple photos from today.20210430_132253.thumb.jpg.876d92b136b98a037bda46ffc20f20af.jpg

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I think Foulhook's morels are all M. americana; thick-fleshed clavate stalks (double-layered as seen in the one pic). Also, caps with relatively numerous pits per area. And the dark pits suggest immature M. americana (or the seemingly remotely possible M. ulmaria). M. sceptriformis is a species found in healthy tulip poplar forests of the SE Mid Atlantic region. Caps max out at the size of a relatively immature M. americana fruit body. 

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On 5/3/2021 at 12:51 AM, troutddicted said:

Early start for me here in Ontario.  Got a pretty major stomach upset from consuming approx. 10 morels with steak for dinner.  First time ever getting sick from any mushroom and my my it was no fun 😑. Good luck out there everyone!

Hey Brother,  I hope you’re feeling better. It happened to me once years ago. Now I tend to cook morels like I do chicken. A little more than done just to be safe. My stomach doesn’t like shiitake. Gives new meaning to the name 😉 

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Wow! Some real monsters there Dave! It’s been a good year so far. I went out in the rain a little bit yesterday. Also all under dying elms. I have found absolutely nothing under tulips this year. And I have giant stands of huge tulips. 
 

 

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Nooooo! It happened again! Ate 4 little blacks and upset stomach.  I cooked them in the pan for half hour, thinking, NOT THIS TIME MOREL!  Heavy boils, hot hot hot.  For years Ive done it this way with no ill effects... And silly willy what a night full of trips to the washroom, liquids pouring outta me from various orifices, cold sweats, tremendous stomach pains.... Thats it, Im retiring morels.... time to shower and go to work.... 

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7 hours ago, troutddicted said:

Nooooo! It happened again! Ate 4 little blacks and upset stomach.  I cooked them in the pan for half hour, thinking, NOT THIS TIME MOREL!  Heavy boils, hot hot hot.  For years Ive done it this way with no ill effects... And silly willy what a night full of trips to the washroom, liquids pouring outta me from various orifices, cold sweats, tremendous stomach pains.... Thats it, Im retiring morels.... time to shower and go to work.... 

I know of another person that this happened to.

Ate Morels for decades...no problems.

Then abruptly, no tolerance. GI upsets+++. Every time he tries to eat them now he gets sick. So he stopped. 

Is this common where a person suddenly starts having reactions after being OK for many years?

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On 5/13/2021 at 3:17 AM, troutddicted said:

Nooooo! It happened again! Ate 4 little blacks and upset stomach.  I cooked them in the pan for half hour, thinking, NOT THIS TIME MOREL!  Heavy boils, hot hot hot.  For years Ive done it this way with no ill effects... And silly willy what a night full of trips to the washroom, liquids pouring outta me from various orifices, cold sweats, tremendous stomach pains.... Thats it, Im retiring morels.... time to shower and go to work.... 

If you're game, I would try one more thing:  always dehydrate your morels completely, then rehydrate and cook.  I've never gotten sick from doing this, but I've been sick several times eating fresh, even after they were cooked a long time.

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49 minutes ago, troutddicted said:

Thank you for your reply.  Yes I read about this - I will give it another shot... take a day off the next day just to be sure 😝

Man, I’m so sorry to hear you got sick again. Hope you’re feeling better brother. Morels are pretty much over where I am now. Switched to fly fishing yesterday. Solid day on the Lackawaxen river. Some big browns and bows. No hatch but bouncing stoneflies off the bottom was producing in spades 

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