Don’t forget when you’re out turkey hunting, groundhog hunting, shed hunting or stump shooting to carry a mesh bag with you and keep a look out for Morels. It’s almost time, here in Missouri, for Morels to start popping up. Here is an article that was sent to me from the Missouri Conservation Department. It came from a news letter called All Outdoors.
If you are finding Morels please report in and show us your bounty.
Floods might reduce morel crop in some areas
A poor crop this year could pay dividends in 2009.
JEFFERSON CITY-As if the immediate damage from flooding were not
enough, recent wet weather could reduce the number of morels Missourians
find this spring. Those who are inclined to look for a silver lining
will cheerfully note that a poor morel crop this year probably would
boost next year’s production.
Resource Scientist Bruce Moltzan is the Missouri Department of
Conservation’s resident mushroom expert. He said morels are the
fruiting bodies of a larger plant, just as apples are the fruiting
structures of an apple tree.
Morel fungi emerge each spring from wintering bodies known as
sclerotia. When warm, moist weather arrives, sclerotia invest their
stored nutrients in two ways. One is to produce root-like structures to
draw water and nutrients from the soil and decaying plant tissue. The
other is to grow "primordia," the familiar, sponge-like cone that is
the holy grail of mushroom fanatics.
Moltzan said morels need the right combination of nutrients, humidity,
carbon dioxide and temperature to form mushrooms.
"Morel sclerotia are amazing survival structures," he said, "so
flooding should not kill them. However, if during the formation time
sclerotia are sitting in flooded areas, it is likely they won’t form
primordia this year, and mushrooms will be more abundant next year."
All this applies only to flooded areas. Morel sclerotia growing on
higher ground can still produce normal crops of mushrooms under good
conditions.
One way to identify good morel hunting spots is related to how morels
make their living. Moltzan said morels have a mutually beneficial
relationship with trees. The roots of trees intertwine with those of
morels, known as mycorrhizae. The fungi get sugars from the trees’
roots, and the trees benefit from an effective expansion of their root
systems, increasing their ability to draw water and nutrients from the
soil. Some evidence suggests that morel mycorrhizae also provide
protection from other organisms that damage tree roots.
Mushroom hunters have long known that the death of a tree can trigger a
flush of morel fruiting. Moltzan said this is because morels’
underground, vegetative parts sense a decrease in their sugar lifeline
and react by sending up spore-producing fruits to perpetuate the species
when food runs out.
"That is why mushroom hunters who notice a dead slippery elm one year
may find a bonanza of morels the next spring," he said.
That provides insight into where morels will grow, but Moltzan said the
question of when they will emerge is a deep mystery.
"Predicting the timing of morels is very complicated," he said.
"To quote a prominent mycologist, ‘The thrill of the hunt is what
makes morelling so exciting ... and often so frustrating.’"
Moltzan said that all things being equal (which they seldom are), late
April is a prime time for morel hunting.
"I start hitting the trails about the middle of April in
mid-Missouri. Production continues for about two weeks. In general,
this window is earlier in the south and later in the north. The key is
getting out and looking."
-Jim Low-
Topic: Watch for Morels (Read 1001 times)
