What type of morel are these?

[Krull]

I found some morels but wanted to know if these are black or yellow? They are small, about the size of a thumb. Does anyone know how many days I should wait so that they can grow to a size that is pickable?

 

 

[Krull]

Another question: I also stumbled onto 5-6 giant puffball corpses that were probably from last year. Do giant puffballs come up every year in the same location?

 

[healthfreak]

I believe they are yellow. Any more discoveries?

 

 

 

 

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cheap flights

[bobby b]

Yes yellows not blacks, M. americana or a cryptic species from the great lakes, M. ulmaria.

[Krull]

9 hours ago, bobby b said:

Yes yellows not blacks, M. americana or a cryptic species from the great lakes, M. ulmaria.

Thanks! And makes sense, found them near Lake Ontario.

[Dave W]

I agree with bobby. These are immature fruit bodies of either Morchella americana or M. ulmaria. Difficult to say how long it will take for them to mature, and if the weather turns dry and hot they may fail to mature. So, you need to keep abreast of the weather. If a significant rainfall come along then maybe 2-4 days afterward would be a good time to check. But, if the weather gets chilly after some rain, then it may take longer. If you have sub-freezing temperatures the morels may freeze and then they may not grow much more after that. Generally speaking, I'd say you should wait for at least 1-2 cm of rainfall and then try to time it after that. 

Regarding the large puffballs... These types of fungi are saprobic species. Unlike mycorrhizal species --like chanterelles or boletes that grow from mycelium that associates with live trees-- a saprobic mycelium feeds on available nutrients produced by decaying vegetable matter. Once the nutrients are used up there will be no more mushrooms in that same exact spot. However, in the case of puffballs. there are a lot of spores released, so there's a good chance that new mycelium will become established not far from the ones that popped last year. I don't know how long it takes for a newly introduced mycelium to become a viable mushroom producer. Most of the species that produce large puffballs are from genus Calvatia. Up until maybe two year ago, a lawn on my property had been producing Calvatia cyathiformis (purple-spored puffballs) off and on for most of the previous 15 years or so. But, not every year. As with any fungi, weather conditions + timing are essential ingredients. 

[Krull]

2 minutes ago, Dave W said:

I agree with bobby. These are immature fruit bodies of either Morchella americana or M. ulmaria. Difficult to say how long it will take for them to mature, and if the weather turns dry and hot they may fail to mature. So, you need to keep abreast of the weather. If a significant rainfall come along then maybe 2-4 days afterward would be a good time to check. But, if the weather gets chilly after some rain, then it may take longer. If you have sub-freezing temperatures the morels may freeze and then they may not grow much more after that. Generally speaking, I'd say you should wait for at least 1-2 cm of rainfall and then try to time it after that. 

Regarding the large puffballs... These types of fungi are saprobic species. Unlike mycorrhizal species --like chanterelles or boletes that grow from mycelium that associates with live trees-- a saprobic mycelium feeds on available nutrients produced by decaying vegetable matter. Once the nutrients are used up there will be no more mushrooms in that same exact spot. However, in the case of puffballs. there are a lot of spores released, so there's a good chance that new mycelium will become established not far from the ones that popped last year. I don't know how long it takes for a newly introduced mycelium to become a viable mushroom producer. Most of the species that produce large puffballs are from genus Calvatia. Up until maybe two year ago, a lawn on my property had been producing Calvatia cyathiformis (purple-spored puffballs) off and on for most of the previous 15 years or so. But, not every year. As with any fungi, weather conditions + timing are essential ingredients. 

Thanks! Very informative. I went back 3 days after I found those morels and they doubled in size and are more yellow colored now. We just had a large amount of rain so will give them a couple more days. Very cool to see them grow!

I will go back to the puffballs and kick them around to spread their spores. Promising that they might return so excited to check on them later in the year.

[bobby b]

Yellow is the color of the spores, so maybe the end of growth for them. Around the same elm tree this year with a progressive fruiting of 33 morels, a few struggled but most did well in less than ideal conditions.

[Dave W]

Krull, sounds like those morels may be ready to harvest. Maybe today or tomorrow would be best. If you wait too long then the slugs get them. Check the area carefully. There may be a few more that popped after the rain, and morels can be difficult to spot. The color scheme is basically camo. 

[Calvert]

1 hour ago, Dave W said:

The color scheme is basically camo.

This is so true, it hurts.

I've found a single morel, and then looked away, and it took me a couple minutes to find it again, even though it was right there.