Morel season started early for me
Submitted by Sweet Tatorman on Sun, 03/22/2020 - 09:13
The morel season started about 3 weeks earlier for me than is typical. Usually I don't see any until a week or two after the first emergence of asparagus. I still haven't see any asparagus emerge but saw the first morel 5 days ago. So far only 5 seen to date. The ones I find locally tend to be quite small. Photo below is 80% of this year's harvest. Sweet Tatorthumb for scale.
add photo:
ClareBroommaker
Sun, 03/22/2020 - 09:49
Permalink
Thumbkins
Cute little mushrooms. I wonder what made the difference in their coming up early this year. That time relationship to asparagus seems like a good way to remember the morels.
Sweet Tatorman
Sun, 03/22/2020 - 10:25
Permalink
There are lots of morel indicator plants that folks use
There are lot's of morel indicator plants that folks use. The two that I rely on mostly are 1) Redbud trees are in full bloom and 2) the leaves of emerged Mayapple plants are in a horizontal plane as opposed to drooping down around the central stem as they do when they first emerge. The native range of each of these plants extends to Missouri where you are so I would think that they would be useful there too.
ClareBroommaker
Sun, 03/22/2020 - 11:47
Permalink
Yes morels here
Yes there are morels here. :) Even in the most popular city park there is an area where my brother used to pick morels for us. It astounded me that he could get them when so many other people must be aware of them...I've never hunted morels, but my son is also a morel hunter. Would go out in rural northeast Missouri where his college was to collect them....Maybe I should look on the banks of the railroad tracks near me. There are trees, undisturbed natural litter, light undergrowth. Being on a slope doesn't seem right for morels, though, do you think?
BTW, aren't those colonies of mayapples beautiful?
Sweet Tatorman
Sun, 03/22/2020 - 12:01
Permalink
Morels are where you find them.
Morels are where you find them. I don't think slopes would preclude them.
Yes, I too find those Mayapple colonies beautiful. From your choice of words it sounds like you know that those are usually clonal colonies.
ClareBroommaker
Sun, 03/22/2020 - 12:15
Permalink
Yep, clonal
Personal note: I studied rate of genetic mutation in clonal plants for my final college senior project. Mayapples were among them. But they are just beautiful.