Portal | Wildflowers Home Page | Plant Books | 500+ Flower Photos | Edibles | Weed Ecology | Mushrooms | Links
Morchellaceae: The Morel Family
The morels are a small, but well known and delicious family of mushrooms. They live in the soil and help to decay organic matter. Of this family I am only familiar with the true morels, especially Morchella esculenta. In mid-May on a warm day after a good rain, that is the time to go hunting morel mushrooms among the cottonwood groves that follow the rivers here in southwestern Montana. Unfortunately, we are often short of either rain or warmth in May, so sometimes I do more hunting than gathering. Tree mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are a good consolation prize when the morels are in short supply. Sometimes morels can be found at a higher elevation in June, growing among the aspens. One thing I've learned about morels is that it is difficult to predict where they will pop up each year. A rich spot often yields nothing the following year.
Morels also grow among the conifers, especially the black morel (Morchella elata), but they can be really difficult to see against the dark soil. It is really exciting to find these morels in the mountains in June and July, long after the season is over for morels down by the rivers. Morels especially thrive in the ashes of forest fires, attracting thousands of commercial mushroom hunters the first spring after a serious fire year. I have never picked in a burned site yet.
Morels were my Grandma Josie's favorite mushroom, by far. She simply sliced and fried them in a little oil and served them as a delicious side dish to any meal. Raw morels may cause digestive upsets, so always cook them before eating.
References:
Arora, David. All That the Rain Promises, and More... Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 1991.
Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified, Second Edition. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 1986.
Phillips, Roger. Mushrooms of North America. Little, Brown & Co.: Boston. 1991.
Schalkwijk-Barendsen, Helene M.E. Mushrooms of Northwest North America. Lone Pine Publishing: Redmond, WA. 1991.
-Check out my favorite mushroom guides.-
Return to Tom's Mushroom Photo Album
Check out these books by Thomas J. Elpel
 Participating in Nature |  Botany in a Day |  Direct Pointing to Real Wealth |
 Living Homes |
Return to the Wildflowers & Weeds Home Page.
|  |
How to Place Retail Orders
Order On-Line: Order on-line with your Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express. Simply click on the links to learn more about each product and enter the quantity you want in the little white boxes, then click the "Add to Order" button. You will be transferred to our secure payment service for the final check-out.
Order by mail or telephone: We accept checks and money orders payable in US dollars. Please use the on-line shopping basket to tally your order. Click the "Pay for Order On-line" button to calculate the postage, then print or copy the information and call or send it to us at the address above.
Shipping Options
 |  |
| USA Customers We ship all USA orders via USPS Priority Mail, except as otherwise noted on the website. Express Mail shipping is available by special request. | International |
Granny's Country Store Departments
Tom's Books & Videos
Wilderness Survival | Nature, Wildlife, Tracking
Wildflowers and Edibles | Resources for Educators
Home-Building Resources | Goods for Green Living
Books & Gifts for Kids
Thomas J. Elpel's Web World Pages
Green University | Granny's Country Store | HOPS Press, LLC
Sustainable Living Skills | Primitive Living Skills
Wildflowers & Weeds | Society of Primitive Technology
Jefferson River Canoe Trail | What's New? | Search This Site!
Return to Thomas J. Elpel's
Web World Portal | Web World Tunnel
© 1997 - 2008 Thomas J. Elpel