Morchella
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- Morel redirects here. For other uses, see Morel (disambiguation).
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Morchella angusticeps |
Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible cup fungi. They produce highly porous ascocarps, prized by gourmet cooks, particularly for French cuisine. Commercial value aside, morels are hunted by thousands of people every year simply for their taste and the joy of the hunt. Morels have been called by many local names; some of the more colorful include "merkels" or "miracles," based on a story of how a mountain family was saved from starvation by eating morels, and Dryland fish, due to their similarity in taste to fish.
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[edit] Location of morels
The morel grows abundantly in the two and sometimes three years immediately following a forest fire, but where fire suppression is practiced, may grow regularly though in small amount in the same spot year after year. Commercial pickers and buyers in North America will follow forest fires to gather morels. The Finnish name, huhtasieni, refers to huhta, area cleared for agriculture by slash and burn method. These spots may be jealously guarded by mushroom pickers, as the mushrooms are a delicacy and sometimes a cash crop. Although no symbiotic relationships have been proven between morels and certain tree species, experienced morel hunters swear by these relationships. Trees commonly associated with morels include ash, sycamore, yellow-poplar, fallen elms, and old apple trees (remnants of orchards). Morels have not yet been successfully farmed on a large scale, and the commercial morel industry is based on harvest of wild mushrooms. Muscoda, Wisconsin is the self-styled Morel Mushroom Capital of Wisconsin.
[edit] Different types of mushrooms
The best known morel is the Morchella deliciosa, which is commonly known as simply "morel." Other common names for morels include Merkel, and Sponge Mushroom. When gathering morels, care must be taken to distinguish them from the poisonous false morel (Gyromitra esculenta and others). However, morels are fairly distinctive in appearance. Other types include Morchella esculenta, M. elata, M. semilibera, and M. vulgaris. Mushroom hunters will commonly refer to them by their color, i.e., gray, yellow, black, etc., as the species are very similar in appearance and vary considerably within species and age of individual mushroom.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Great Morel
- Wild Harvest
- MushroomExpert.com's Morel section
- Michigan Morels information and discussion
- Morel Satisfaction: Stalking the Wild Mushroom from National Public Radio
[edit] Sources
- Harvesting Morels After Wildfire in Alaska. Wurtz et al. USDA Forest Service Research Note PNW-RN-546, February 2005
