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Very cold and wet here in S. Quebec too..we recently found the signs of spring close to our house, a couple of red cups and a few Gyromitra gigas, but the gigas are still babies after growing a week and a half....still, I've never found Morels in this region, and am keeping hope that his unusual season may bring some surprises.

(for you doubters...no, morels don't seem to grow here...this is the fourth place I've lived in since I pick mushrooms (and I found lots before), and I've never found a morel here (Sherbrooke, QC). Our local club has "rarely" found one or two.)

Personally, I'm happy enough to find cup fungi!

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Shroominator, thanks for posting the videos. And congrats on that amazing haul! It's been dogs years since I've hunted morels, and I've been worrying that I won't spot them. Getting a look at how they appear is helpful. Looks like you're further south than me - the woods you're in have greened up more than those up here in Northern IL. I might go out for a walk later this afternoon, but it's still been pretty chilly. We have a few warmer days coming though, I'm hoping for some success this weekend.

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Calvert, nice to hear from you. Those G. gigas you found, I think this is probably the type that I've been calling G. korfii. As I understand it, the gigas and korfii differ in spore size (and size of fruit bodies). How big do your Gyromitras get? I have found korfii with diameter up to 12 cm. I've heard that the Rocky Mountain gigas gets to be the size of a soccer ball!

Shroominator, those videos look they're shot in morel heaven!

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Calvert, nice to hear from you. Those G. gigas you found, I think this is probably the type that I've been calling G. korfii. As I understand it, the gigas and korfii differ in spore size (and size of fruit bodies). How big do your Gyromitras get? I have found korfii with diameter up to 12 cm. I've heard that the Rocky Mountain gigas gets to be the size of a soccer ball!

Shroominator, those videos look they're shot in morel heaven!

What's the consensus on eating G. gigas? I've seen conflicting information regarding gigas and MMH toxins. I pass up lots of Gyromitra every year because I figure I can always find morels or porcini.

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oh, YAY!!! Went out and poked around behind the house after work. It's been warmer. Found seven yellows, brought home two, left the others to grow for a day or two. Am going to get up early tomorrow am and pay a quick visit to the woods before work. I'm thrilled to bits.

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Oh! The disappointment!

When I got home from work today I took my two year old daughter for a walk in the woods near our house to check on some tulip trees. On the way we passed a house with sick tulip in the yard and sure enough underneath were about a dozen beautiful blacks. We knocked on the door and politely asked permission when the teenage daughter of the house answered. She said it was fine so off we went. Just as we picked the last one the girl came back out of the house to tell us that her mother had the yard sprayed for ticks three days ago! Bummer! We didn't find any morels in the woods but I found a very fresh and not-bug-infested oyster as a consolation prize.

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Found my own little piece of morel heaven today. There's an area with lots of elms that's about 50 miles from my home. Timed it right this year! 265 esculentas, almost all in good to excellent condition. Lots of big 'uns.

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I think we've got a few more days to find prime esculentas around apple and elm trees. And I still expect to get some deliciosas in the Tulip Poplar/White Ash woods. Toward the next weekend I'll see if I can find yellows under White Pine. I've never found them under pine, although I've heard about this type of habitat many times. I figure this to be a late-producing habitat.

Got another haul of esculantas under elms, in central PA... about a 2 hour drive for me. The ones seen below amount to less than half of what our two friends picked on the same day in the same area. I'm headed back out there in a day or two.

This tiny deliciosa was found last week in New Jersey. So far, my best spots for deliciosas have produced well below last year's excellent levels. I still need to check my local spot... probably tomorrow. I also need to check a few local apple orchards. This month of morels gets to be a real obsession with me!

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OK nothing spectacular but here are my finds from over the weekend here in Connecticut:

Saturday I found these mostly under an apple tree - the deer/fawn mushrooms were an experiment but not one I think I'll often repeat.

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Sunday I found this handful in a new spot in the forest near tulips, ash and maple but not clearly associating with one particular tree. I didn't get to spend much time exploring before I had to leave

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Monday I went back to the new spot for an hour and found a few I missed plus a few more a little deeper in the woods under a tulip

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I've also been picking whatever other edibles I come across just to experiment and familiarize myself with spring mushrooms. So far a few fawn mushrooms (as disappointing flavor wise as everybody says), a beautiful haul of dryad's saddle (such gorgeous fungi even if they're not the most prized for the table) and mica caps (which tasted a lot better than I expected - I'll definitely be collecting again).

I am SO GLAD the winter is over!

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  • 1 month later...

While everyone from the east side of the continent seems to be picking other types of mushrooms, here on the west coast it's still morel season, at least at higher elevations. This weekend I explored a new area, to me, for the third week in a row. After previously finding only scattered handfuls of morels, this time I found the best area ever for natural black morels. It doesn't compare to fire morels; but, hopefully, it should produce a reasonable abundance year after year. I collected about 14 liters (3.5 gallons) of black morels, mostly mature to rather old, but including some young ones. I had to leave behind lots of them that were too far gone, but I'll know when to return next year. The collecting area is fairly low, below 1000 m elevation; so there are still plenty of places at higher elevations to check out.

This year, for the first time, I found a few yellow morels, not in any great quantities; but some of them were the biggest morels I've ever seen. However, none of these were naturals. Has anyone on the west coast found natural yellow morels, and is anyone else still picking morels now?

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Vitog, while vacationing in Washington State a few years back, I ran into this mushroom hunter who told me that he got Yellow Morels in western OR and western WA in mature mixed hardwood forests. He did not tell me what types of trees.

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Smooth chants coming here, found a couple pounds last night, but I had to work for them

a bit. My near spots had them here & there. Going to try one of the far trails next week.

We have a MOMS foray this weekend at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, near Lake of the Ozarks. Joining

everyone Saturday, but I'm going to get a room that night -- one day of 98+ will be enough for

me!

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