Evan Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 We found our first blacks today! There are only four very small ones, but they are here!!! Of course I locked the keys in the jeep and had to get my mother to drive out and bring us home to get the other key. But, We Found Morels!!!! We forgot the camera, so we're going to post a pic as soon as we take one and get it loaded on the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted April 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Here are our first morels of the year. Not very impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Well, I would be thrilled with four nice little morels. Congratulations! and hope you find more soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zora Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Here are my very first!!!!! It took a 2.5 hour drive to west va to get them, but I am so happy! I only found 10, but we are going back next week. Lots of black urns there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducks n' Morels Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I found my first morels yesterday! First I stumbled across a little 3 pack of fresh greys under a dead elm, then I found my early patch that had 6 blacks in it. The black patch is a bed of geodes with a large white ash right in the middle of it, it's a really cool spot! The blacks grow from under the rocks and geodes which warm in the sun. It's looking like a great season around here, with plenty of moisture so far. We had a half inch earlier in the week, which got wiped out by two days of high wind and low RH. But we got a tenth yesterday morning, and another half inch this morning. We're supposed to get more tomorrow evening, and more next week. Temperatures look perfect after this weekend, which has been very warm to get things going quick. Good luck this season everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted April 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Nice finds, guys. Things should get going here this week. The rain has been perfect and the temps sre on the rise starting today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyflyfsh Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Yay Zora!!! Nice going! Evan, I'm going to come up to SE PA as soon as I think the esculenta's will be fruiting. I've found them in huge quantities on my Mom's property in the past but it's been years since I've tried to hit it at the right time. The one time I got it just right, was the first time I'd ever found them there (by accident) and didn't even know they grew there. It was on Mother's Day, May 14th which seems late to me for the area. Anyway, it's just a couple days drive for me now, so I'm coming up so keep me posted on when the big yeller's get going and I'm on my way! Are the mayapples up yet? Maybe we can get Zora, Dave W and Evan together for a little foray somewhere while I'm in the area??? Think about it... Ducks: Nice going...if anyone can find 'em...we know you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted April 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 We should be able to make that happen. The mayapples are just coming up now. There were only a few patches that were starting to open. The blacks should be coming around by the end of the week and really fruiting a few days after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducks n' Morels Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Yeah, I always find my first blacks just as the mayapples unfurl, and the dandelions start blooming in yards. Those seem to be the most reliable indicators. This season some of the indicators, especially the blooming trees and shrubs such as redbud, apple, and lilac are well ahead of the woods this season. But the dandelions were right on schedule! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted April 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 We found 15 today in the early patches. There still pretty small for the most part. Harmony found a couple withou any help. She was pretty proud of herself. The flowers are staring to bloom there, also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyflyfsh Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Zora, Dave and Evan, I'm heading up to SE PA on Friday the 22nd and will hang out until the morels pop and I can pick them ALL!!!!! LOL Let's foray together while I'm there....I should arrive sometime Saturday afternoon the 23rd. I hope I'm not too terribly early but I figured I could be there for Easter with the family and kill two birds with one stone. Let me know what would work for you guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted April 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 That would be great! We're actually hitting my black spot on the 21st. But, the yellows might be coming in by the weekend a little farther east or south. It's been fairly cold here, but with warmer temps, who knows. If you can get up here a couple days earlier you are more than welcome to come to my spot with us. Nest week they should really be peaking. I also have a couple new spots to check for yellows. I'm going to keep an eye on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Found our first two blacks on Friday 4/15. Each one was past peak and full of bugs! They must've popped after the 80F day we had over a week ago, 4/8. Now the rain just doesn't seem to let up (well over 3" these past 5-7 days), and things are really too wet. I think some of the early blacks may get washed-out. So I expect numbers of blacks to be a bit on the low side. But once we finally get a couple warm days with some sun, I think there'll be some big ones. Also, all this soaking rain may set us up pretty well for the yellows, which are probably still about two weeks away. Pics show this year's first morel, a False Morel, and Mica Caps. Morchella species of the elata type Gyromitra korfii Coprinellus micaceus (formerly Coprinus micaceus) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Lovely picture of the false morels! It always makes me wonder how anyone can mistake these for morchella. So different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitog Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Speaking of false morels, here's one that had me fooled until I got really close. The Verpa bohemica on the right looks a lot like a Black Morel and not too similar to the other Verpas on the left, which I inserted into the view for comparison. The ridges on the older Verpas darken so that they resemble those on Black Morels; and, for some reason, the ridges on this Verpa were unusually vertical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feral Boy Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Got my first 50 blacks this weekend! Pictures at home, but here's a preview: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungrrl Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Got my first 50 blacks this weekend! Pictures at home, but here's a preview: Nice find, and nice picture! ...shuffles off to glower at the remnants of yesterday's snow and be generally envious for a while ....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamara Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Hey All, After all the fuss I made about never finding Morels, I'm almost ashamed to post my tale... almost, but too elated to actually refrain. We've had a couple of friends staying with us from out of state, so my husband and I took them hiking in our favorite state recreational area this past weekend. Neither of our friends had ever been mushroom hunting before, so I was feeling a bit full of myself, pointing out different clusters of minor fungi that were colonizing the recently burned areas of the trail we were on. As I was resuming my hike, my girlfriend asks, "So what are all those black mushrooms called?" Lo and behold there I was standing in the middle of the largest number of Morels I have ever seen in one place in my life! Too funny! I had had the impression that fire burn Morels were not found east of the Rockies, however these just had to be them. When I've hunted in tulip poplar forests, the Morels found there have been at least a good 10+ feet apart and never clustered. These were just thick! We collected 2 lbs. of them and then and there, a difficult feat as I was almost hyperventilating and kept dropping the ones I picked as my hands were shaking. This may be small change to the rest of you, but this is the pinnacle of my Morel experiences. (Of course we didn't have our camera with us.) Only one downside, and that was entirely relative. Despite working on them for over an hour with paint brushes, the dish I served them in was a teensy bit gritty from ash. No one complained, and I found I could bear it quite cheerfully... only wincing occasionally! The tale continues... a day later, back to our house, the husband of the couple staying with us stepped out into our back "yard" area and found some beautiful yellow Morels where they have never been seen before (I promise you). I have now developed a new Morel hunting strategy: send out the neophytes!! Tamara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feral Boy Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Tamara -- Excellent! Sounds like a great strategy, too. BTW, where do you live? <GRIN> I haven't had much luck here near St. Louis, but found a nice bunch of blacks where my mother in law lives in Indiana. Went back to a neighbor's and found them on the same slope. Here are the fruits of my labors: Found just a few yellows too. MOMS' big morel hunt is this weekend a bit farther north, Troy and Louisiana area. Should be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamara Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 "Speaking of false morels, here's one that had me fooled until I got really close. The Verpa bohemica on the right looks a lot like a Black Morel and not too similar to the other Verpas on the left, which I inserted into the view for comparison. The ridges on the older Verpas darken so that they resemble those on Black Morels; and, for some reason, the ridges on this Verpa were unusually vertical." Vitog, how did you identify this as not a Morel? It would sooo have fooled me. Was it chambered inside? Tamara P.S. Wow, Feral Boy, those are beautiful! (Hmmmm... it's so much easier to be gracious when you're not eating your heart out!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 That's awesome Tamara!! FB, you're not doing too bad either. Here, on the other hand, has not been that great so far. I'm beginning to fear that our black season is not going to produce much this year. Dave W and his wife Karen came down today for our annual foray at my local spot. I came out with about 15 blacks and half frees for hours of hunting. Dave did a bit better, but not like in past years. It was great to spend the day together, though. Hopefully we'll get a few warmer days before the season expires. Then, time to hit those orchards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitog Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 Tamara, Verpas are easy to identify when you pick them. The cap is not attached to the stem at the bottom, only at the very top. Most true morels have caps attached at the top and the bottom of the cap, and half-frees, naturally, have caps attached at the top and half way to the bottom of the cap. It's very obvious when the mushroom is in hand; Verpas only resemble true morels from a distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feral Boy Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 Tamara, Verpas are easy to identify when you pick them. The cap is not attached to the stem at the bottom, only at the very top. Most true morels have caps attached at the top and the bottom of the cap, and half-frees, naturally, have caps attached at the top and half way to the bottom of the cap. It's very obvious when the mushroom is in hand; Verpas only resemble true morels from a distance. Additionally, verpas often have a kind of cottony "stuffing" in the stalks. Also, half-free morels usually have tiny flakes on the stalk, inside or outside, that look a bit like a light dusting of corn meal. Look at this one in full resolution and you'll see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted April 23, 2011 Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 Tamara, that is really interesting... your finding Fire Morels in Kentucky. The clusters of multiple blacks is a typical burn-site characteristic. Was this burnt forest pine trees or other conifers? Out west, after the black fire morels fruit, they also get fire "grays"... a different species that looks somewhat like the "escluenta type" that we get here in the east. Karen, Evan, and I had a fine day together this past Thursday. Beautiful sunny day. I got sunburnt on my neck! Coolish temps kept most of the bugs at bay. We ran into other morel hunters, and I got into a good morel discussion with one guy. Like Evan already said, we didn't get as many morels as some years --17 blacks, 28 half-frees, one deliciosa for Karen and me. A wholly enjoyable day, with just enough mushrooms to keep me sufficiently motivated to climb the ridge up to each next big Tulip Poplar that came into view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted April 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 We went out after work yesterday and found a few blacks and two half frees. Several of them were dried out on top. I guess it's time to start on yellows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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