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Can we talk about environment?


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As I think you all know, I'm an inexperienced morel hunter. I've found two small patches so far this year, and have tramped hither and yon around three different wooded areas. As noted over on the 'strategy' thread, the hither and yon approach isn't terribly effective.

So - while I understand that morels can and do pop up anywhere - I'd like to try to get a handle specifically on the characteristics of the microclimates that seem to be more conducive to supporting morel populations. I'd like to better understand what makes a spot a good prospect for morels - other than the presence of the usual suspect tree species (i.e. elm, ash, tulip, apple....)

Forest, field or periphery?

From the conversations here about hunting orchards and burn areas, it seems that morels are likely to be found in areas where that are more open, rather than deep woods, and where the ground cover is light. My own very, very paltry experience supports this - my two little morel patches are both on the edge of the woods, near grassy clearings. This also indictes (to me at least) that sunnier spots are ideal.

Leaf litter or growing things?

The picutres I've seen posted on this board suggest that morels are more likely to be found on a leafy forest floor, rather than ground overgrown with early-sprouting and dense weedy plants - in my area,for example, that awful invasive garlic mustard is already thick on the floor of many areas.

Dense newer woods, or older areas with more space?

I know that morels are often found around dying or newly-dead trees of specific species. I've found a lot of both in both the brushier peripheral areas of the woods I hunt, which are less mature and populated with what I'd call saplings. Are these areas better prospects than deeper into the forests, where the trees are larger with more space around each?

Thanks all for helping me get a handle on all the variables!

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I can toss in my 2 cents worth...

It depends.

ok ok I know that was the last thing you wanted to hear but to a large extent it is the truth. It seems that morels are capable of looking around their environment and deciding which sorts of trees they would like to associate with and they seem capable of adjusting where they live in order to be with the tree of their choice.

In southern Ontario their preferred trees are elm and apple with elm being way ahead of apple. Yes they will associate with some other trees but not with the frequency that they associate with apple and elm. Part of that has to do with the environmental history here. In the early 1900's much of the forest land in southern Ontario was clear cut to make room for farming and huge tracts of forest simply disappeared. Every farm had a small orchard and most farms had old elm trees lining the fence rows so in many cases elm and apple became the only reliable hosts where farming became intensive. All that clear cutting resulted in huge erosion problems and it wasnt many years before some parts of the province started looking like a dust bowl. The government stepped in and started planing much of this land back to forests. Most of the land went to red pine plantations (which are fungally useless) but there were generally some areas around the plantations which had some hardwoods and those areas became protected hardwood forests. The problem is that the tree that reproduces best in the shaded forest areas in our area is maple and left to its own devices a hardwood forest here will self convert to a maple forest over the course of 100 years. In some cases the forest managers have made an effort to encourage other tree species but mostly they have just let the maple take over. Mostly morels here prefer to associate with some tree other than maple. Ash and cherry can work but there isnt a lot of either. Aspen works too but the thing with aspen is that is it what is called a pioneer tree because it tends to be the first species to expand outward into open spaces. So we have hardwood forests containing trees that the morels will use if they have to but which they dont really prefer and we have aspen around the perimeters and we have elm and apple which dont really happen in the forests. So when we look at the whole picture it quickly becomes clear that it is best to look for morels someplace other than the forests. Oh we do find them in the woods but if you want to get serious about morels we stay out of the forests. One good dead elm at the edge of a forest could produce 100 morels, a good apple could produce 20-30. You could walk all day in the woods and if you were lucky you could find 20-30. This will all change over the course of the next 50 years or so. Most of the elms are gone (dutch elm disease) and many of the old apple trees are being cleaned tou for the sake of neatness as civilization expands. If the morels want to survive they are going to have to move back into the forests and learn to like some tree that is fairly common.

The same sort of thing I think is true elsewhere. In the Excited States there are tulip poplar (we are too far north here for them) and the morels apparently like them so if you are in an area with a lot of tulip poplar they would be a tree to target. In some areas there is a lot of western red cedar and the morels apparently like them too and if you have them then you can target areas where they grow. The thing is that with mushrooms (and this is true of most species) you are not really looking for the mushrooms, you are looking for the underground organism that produces the mushrooms as fruit. Because of this you have to focus on the places where that underground organism likes to live in your area and remember that the mix of available hosts is different in each area. Where I live the preferred hosts are somewhere other than the forests. Where you live it might be different. I deal with this by always looking in at least one new spot on every day that I find morels. These new spots tend to not be in the forest but sometimes I will go for a look in the woods.

When I do find morels in the forests I have noticed that morels behave a bit like trout. They like to be near the shelter of a log or even a fallen branch and I look almost exclusively right up against wood that is on the ground. I think this has nothing at all to do with where the organism is actually living. The underground part of a morel is not something that is 6 inches square, I think it can get fairly big. I also can think it can select a place to fruit rather than just randomly popping up mushrooms all over the place. It may be that a fallen log reflects sunlight and makes a warm spot or provides shade and makes a cool spot or discourages plant growth or some other consideration that only morels understand. I can say that where I live I find more around wood on the ground than I do out in the open when I find them in the forest. Remember that in general a fungus likes a bit of moisture.

So it is easy sort of. You just have to figure out which trees in your area morels really really prefer. Then you have to find a bunch of places where those trees occur. Then you just have to go look at the right time. Ok I admit that just because you find a patch of trees that the morels in your area like it doesnt mean there there are actually morels there and it doesnt mean that even if they are there that they will fruit this year, but you will have a much much better chance of success if you concentrate on the trees they like than if you simply wander through some random forest and hope. Nobody ever said finding them was a piece of cake and this is why no one will ever give you the exact location of their favorite patch, too much work goes into finding a good spot.

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I can toss in my 2 cents worth...

It depends.

ok ok I know that was the last thing you wanted to hear but to a large extent it is the truth. It seems that morels are capable of looking around their environment and deciding which sorts of trees they would like to associate with and they seem capable of adjusting where they live in order to be with the tree of their choice.

In southern Ontario their preferred trees are elm and apple with elm being way ahead of apple. Yes they will associate with some other trees but not with the frequency that they associate with apple and elm. Part of that has to do with the environmental history here. In the early 1900's much of the forest land in southern Ontario was clear cut to make room for farming and huge tracts of forest simply disappeared. Every farm had a small orchard and most farms had old elm trees lining the fence rows so in many cases elm and apple became the only reliable hosts where farming became intensive. All that clear cutting resulted in huge erosion problems and it wasnt many years before some parts of the province started looking like a dust bowl. The government stepped in and started planing much of this land back to forests. Most of the land went to red pine plantations (which are fungally useless) but there were generally some areas around the plantations which had some hardwoods and those areas became protected hardwood forests. The problem is that the tree that reproduces best in the shaded forest areas in our area is maple and left to its own devices a hardwood forest here will self convert to a maple forest over the course of 100 years. In some cases the forest managers have made an effort to encourage other tree species but mostly they have just let the maple take over. Mostly morels here prefer to associate with some tree other than maple. Ash and cherry can work but there isnt a lot of either. Aspen works too but the thing with aspen is that is it what is called a pioneer tree because it tends to be the first species to expand outward into open spaces. So we have hardwood forests containing trees that the morels will use if they have to but which they dont really prefer and we have aspen around the perimeters and we have elm and apple which dont really happen in the forests. So when we look at the whole picture it quickly becomes clear that it is best to look for morels someplace other than the forests. Oh we do find them in the woods but if you want to get serious about morels we stay out of the forests. One good dead elm at the edge of a forest could produce 100 morels, a good apple could produce 20-30. You could walk all day in the woods and if you were lucky you could find 20-30. This will all change over the course of the next 50 years or so. Most of the elms are gone (dutch elm disease) and many of the old apple trees are being cleaned tou for the sake of neatness as civilization expands. If the morels want to survive they are going to have to move back into the forests and learn to like some tree that is fairly common.

The same sort of thing I think is true elsewhere. In the Excited States there are tulip poplar (we are too far north here for them) and the morels apparently like them so if you are in an area with a lot of tulip poplar they would be a tree to target. In some areas there is a lot of western red cedar and the morels apparently like them too and if you have them then you can target areas where they grow. The thing is that with mushrooms (and this is true of most species) you are not really looking for the mushrooms, you are looking for the underground organism that produces the mushrooms as fruit. Because of this you have to focus on the places where that underground organism likes to live in your area and remember that the mix of available hosts is different in each area. Where I live the preferred hosts are somewhere other than the forests. Where you live it might be different. I deal with this by always looking in at least one new spot on every day that I find morels. These new spots tend to not be in the forest but sometimes I will go for a look in the woods.

When I do find morels in the forests I have noticed that morels behave a bit like trout. They like to be near the shelter of a log or even a fallen branch and I look almost exclusively right up against wood that is on the ground. I think this has nothing at all to do with where the organism is actually living. The underground part of a morel is not something that is 6 inches square, I think it can get fairly big. I also can think it can select a place to fruit rather than just randomly popping up mushrooms all over the place. It may be that a fallen log reflects sunlight and makes a warm spot or provides shade and makes a cool spot or discourages plant growth or some other consideration that only morels understand. I can say that where I live I find more around wood on the ground than I do out in the open when I find them in the forest. Remember that in general a fungus likes a bit of moisture.

So it is easy sort of. You just have to figure out which trees in your area morels really really prefer. Then you have to find a bunch of places where those trees occur. Then you just have to go look at the right time. Ok I admit that just because you find a patch of trees that the morels in your area like it doesnt mean there there are actually morels there and it doesnt mean that even if they are there that they will fruit this year, but you will have a much much better chance of success if you concentrate on the trees they like than if you simply wander through some random forest and hope. Nobody ever said finding them was a piece of cake and this is why no one will ever give you the exact location of their favorite patch, too much work goes into finding a good spot.

Duffrin that is a great little summary. As newbie morel hunter I found it very useful. I've been having moderate success so far - I usually find about a dozen in an outing. Mostly they've been very small yellows (what some call greys I think). Overall a couple of things you and fungrrl said reenforce what's been shaping my strategy so far (and I do think I'm getting a little better) - 1) I agree with fungrrl that most of my finds have been in more open, less overgrown areas both in and out of the forest. 2) I definitely have better luck with fruit trees (and specifically ones with a lot of old fallen fruit around them), tulip trees and ash trees. 3) In the forest I definitely notice them growing out from under fallen sticks. I wish I could find one of these mother load spots I keep reading about with 50-100 big stuffers but all I find is little scatterings of 2-6 small specimens (1-4"). I pretty much only look in the forest because I don't know where else to look. All the public land here is forest and I haven't asked any farmers for permission to hunt. I see a lot of areas on private property (yards & land adjoining houses) but around here (CT) ticks and lymes disease are a major problem so most everybody sprays with pesticides so I don't even bother looking.

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In the woods I hunt, open areas do better than places where there's a lot of undergrowth. I can suggest two reasons for this. First, morels seem to like when the soil temperature comes up somewhat quickly. Open forest allows the sunshine to warm the ground more effectively. Second, lots of plants on the forest floor compete with the morel fungus for water and nutrients.

Some mycologists believe that Morchella forms symbiotic relationships with host trees. Thus, we have a list of tree species where people tend to find morels. Interestingly, the types of trees seem to vary geographically. I've not ever found morels around Aspens, although we've got plenty of them here. Seems this association occurs further north and west. From the Rocky Mountains on westward, the types of trees found, and the types that associate with morels, are a lot different than here in eastern NA.

To my knowledge, the currently held scientific theory of why morels fruit goes something like this. The fungal organism lives underground (often for many years) in association with some tree or other plant. As long as all is well with the Morchella fungus, it tends to conserve it's own reproductive energy. When the host tree dies, or when the host tree puts extra nutrient-demands upon its environment, the Morchella fungus reacts by using its stored energy to reproduce, and hence, morels occur. Forests of live trees seem to be more finicky about producing large morels in large numbers... probably because the nutrient deprivation is much less severe than what typically happens with apple trees, elm trees, or in a pine forest which has burned. In the live forests, springtime regeneration of deciduous trees triggers the response in the Morchella fungus because the trees demand more than the usual amount of soil-based nutrients. But with the elms and apple trees, the host organism dies rather quickly, which triggers a much more extreme reproductive response on the part of the fungus. Elm trees die (most often from Dutch Elm Disease) very quickly. Thus, a large elm where few morels had ever been seen can suddenly produce between 100 and 200 in a single season. Then, after the elm is completely dead for a year, very few if any morels. Thereafter, probably no morels from this source. Apple trees tend to die more slowly. I have observed large trees dieing "limb by limb" over the course of 5 or more years. Such a tree tends to put out a few morels each spring. When such an apple tree finally dies completely, it may produce up to 100 morels in this first post-living spring. Then the numbers taper dramatically over the following few years. But, sometimes a large apple tree may be not quite dead yet, and one small living branch continues for years from an otherwise dead-looking trunk. Such a spot may continue to produce a couple morels each spring, for some time. These types of spots often produce one or two really large morels. With the apple trees and elm trees, it does not seem to me to matter whether there is undergrowth or not. When the tree dies --or begins to die-- if the fungus is present, the morels come out.

"Fire Morels" seem to work like the elm morels. Damage (or death) to trees comes on suddenly --mainly Lodgepole Pine and *I think* Douglas Fir-- and the morels come forth in droves. The theory explains this phenomenon in the same way it explains the elm/apple morels. Loss of host causes the Morchella fungus to go into emergency-reproduction mode. During the second year after a burn, there may be a few morels. After three years, probably none. This is very similar to what happens with the elm trees.

Morels in live forests are much more finicky than the elm/apple/fire morels. This may be because the nutrient-deprivation reaction brought on by the deciduous trees leafing out is much less severe than in the latter cases.

One advantage to live forest morels is that they often occur in the same forests --if not the same exact patches-- for many consecutive years because the host trees do not die. I have found morels nearby living apple trees, but not in large numbers. But some people report large harvests around living apple trees. I think that in some geographic areas the soil/climate is very conducive to morels, so an orchard may get completely inundated with Morchella to the point where even the re-leafing nutrient-demand stimulates plenty of morels.

In my area live forests with mature Tulip Poplar and/or White Ash trees seem to work best. Walking around in a mature hardwood forest can be a very pleasant way to pick morels, and I do this every year. I even travel as far as 3 hours away just to hunt some really nice hardwood forests. But, by far, my most productive forays are the ones in elm groves/ridges and apple orchards... where it is often necessary to crawl along the ground underneath multi-flora rose or some other such prickly bushes in order to get the morels.

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Thanks so much for the thoughtful replies, everyone. I'm going to explore some new areas next week. Appreciate it!

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Thanks so much for the thoughtful replies, everyone. I'm going to explore some new areas next week. Appreciate it!

I'm also agreeing with most of the comments. I also tend to find them more around the edges

of forested areas than REAL deep in the woods. This can be a factor of warmth, but perhaps also that near paths or edges of woods the cover might be thinner, or leaves blown around by the wind, uncovering morels. This may also be the origin of the "disturbed area" theory.

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I have wondered about the "disturbed area" criterion. I've never seen an example. Although I have read about people finding morels nearby newly cut logging roads. Also, i have read reports put our by a government agency --probably the US Forest Service-- in which burn-sites are classified as disturbed areas.

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Morels confound me. There is an area where I walk my dog that has dry, sandy soil on a South-facing slope. I have walked on these trails 500-1000 times in the last 20 years and have only found morels there once before, the year after a brush-fire. This morning, while walking the dog, I found a lone morel in this area. I've also found them growing out of the sand near Lake Michigan. After all this time, I still don't have a clue.

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  • 4 weeks later...

@ dufferinshroomer, I have found yellow morels on the edge of red pine plantations on several occasions. Not consistantly though. So I would say red pine are fungaly uninteresting, but not completely useless

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easternWA your comment about finding them in sand near Lake Michigan reminded me of 3 videos posted by our member Rex about finding morels fruiting on sand dunes along the shore of Lake Erie. This again is an example of the morels selecting the best local host tree in the area and again it is in a place that no one would call forest.

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