do these grow everywhere in the US? I love shrooms. Big wetland in back of the house but never looked for these.<><

Frank: I think the only consistent characteristic of their location is ......trees. I'm usually in the woods but I find them in grassy areas too if a big tree is around or a dead tree was there. I found my last bunch in an oak thicket. (I'm no morel expert in locating them just in identifying them.)

My daughter found the first one yesterday directly under a 3D target!

Just remember there is also the false morel. Also known as the red mushroom. Always cut your morel mushrooms in half to make sure they're hollow. Not everyone dies from eating a false morel, but the toxin Gyromitrin, can cause allot of other illness.

QuoteOriginally posted by sticshooter:
do these grow everywhere in the US? I love shrooms. Big wetland in back of the house but never looked for these.<><

Sticshooter,

Here is a link to a thread about morels. It may answer some of you r questions.  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=058726


Ga.boy,

Great find! Congratulations!
 

When I find morels I'm not finding anything else. There aren't other mushrooms around. Fortunately the morel is pretty distinctive.

rascal is correct.  The best way to carry  is with the onion sack or other netting bag.  It is too cold yet here in Pa.  The third week of April starts our Morel march 8^).

The black phase comes earliest here, then the gray/yellow phase into early May.  They love to grow among poplar, wild cherry, butternut and cucumber trees around here.

Thanks for all the info. and advice. My computers been down since right after I posted this thread, and I just got it back up and running.
I found these in a damp, shady creek valley that is predominately Red Oak, Poplar, Hickory and a few old growth pines. There are a lot of blow downs from a small tornado that came through the area a few years back. A lot of ferns and other green stuff that I don't usually see many other places also grow in this area. And the skeeters are already out there!

Ga.boy, you might try taking the stems to a similar area closer to home to see if you can start a new population...I've heard of people throwing out "spoiled" mushrooms and having a crop the next year.....the spores seem to be throughout the entire fungus?

We need a couple of good, hot days around here to get them to "pop"....

fatman