A Season of Morels Matching Trees and Location to Find Morels by John Plischke III Apple Trees Old abandoned apple orchards are always a favorite place to look. Healthy trees are so seldom productive I dont even bother to look under them. WHERE: The ideal location is an orchard in overgrown farmland that has gone fallow and reverted back into woods. The apple trees there will be in decline and one of the smaller types of trees in the woods. This type of habitat can produce very large sized morels. If you hit it right, collecting baskets can be quickly filled! WHEN: Old orchard morels fruit when the apple trees are in blossom. To find these areas, drive down country roads and look for the apple trees in bloom, which make the trees very easy to spot. WHAT: Yellow Morels, Giant Yellow Morels, Half-Free Morels. Tulip Poplar Trees Tulip poplar trees (aka tulip tree; Liriodendron tulipifera) are one of the most commonly hunted trees in the Northeast. It is not because hundreds of morels can be found under a single tree, but rather that they are easy to locate, fairly consistently productive, and that a few morels can be picked here and there. WHERE : Tulip poplars have very long straight trunks that do not fork until way up in the tree and remind me of telephone poles because of their size. Their leaves remind me of mittens. WHAT: Black Morels start fruiting under them as soon as the leaves get about 1/4 inch, then Half Free Morels start a couple of weeks later followed by Tulip Morels then Yellow Morels start a week or so later. Once the leaves get as big as in the photo here the season is long over. Yellow Morels (Morchella esculenta) found under apple trees. Tulip Poplar Morel (Morchella deliciosa) growing in a small clump under tulip trees. FUNGI Volume 2:1 Spring 2009 46 Burned Areas In the West one of the hottest spots to look for morels is in conifer forests after a fire. Eastern burns are not too productive, so do not bother to search burned forests in the East. HOT TIP: These areas can be so good that they attract commercial pickers from all over the country. (See related article on fire morels, in this issue of FUNGI). WHAT: The recently described Black Fuzzy Footed Burn Morel (Morchella tomentosa). There are a number of other species of morels that also grow in burns but this one is very distinct. In Mulch and Landscaped Areas This morel is a western species and can be found in California, Oregon, and Mexico. It is predominately found in wood chips. Nothing beats the ease of driving to the local McDonalds and picking morels in their landscaping! Another good location to check is olive tree orchards that had branches pruned and chopped into woodchips. Ash Trees In many parts of the country ash trees (particularly white ash, Fraxinus americana) are a very popular tree to look under. WHY: Ash trees are starting to die from the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle. WHAT: Most commonly Yellow Morels are found under ash and occasionally Black Morels. TIP: Although not one of my personal favorite group of trees, I occasionally find morels under aspen and cottonwood, which may occur in the same regions as ash; aspen and cottonwood merit a look if you spot them. The Black Morel (Morchella elata / angusticeps group). WHAT: The Mulch, Olive or Landscape Morel (Morchella rufo- brunnea). 47 FUNGI Volume 2:1 Spring 2009 Elm Trees Dead and dying elm trees are the very best type of trees for morels. This habitat has made the Midwest legendary for morel pickers. Giant elms (American elm, Ulmus americana) produce more and bigger morels per tree than any other tree species. The tree on the left had over 200 Giant Morels under it, growing 612 inches apart and extending about 35 feet in all directions. Can you imagine finding my secret spot that has acres and acres of elm trees, seemingly without end? The photo on the right shows a small one and the distinctive way the trunk branches out at the base. Elm trees have serrated leaves that feel a little rough. WHEN: Morels emerge beneath elm trees once the leaves are about 1/4 inch long. WHERE: Look under recently dead elm trees featuring bark that is just starting to peel off; you may notice some lying on the ground underneath (see the photo above). Healthy elms are not productive. The bigger the elm, the more and bigger the morels underneath! WHAT: Yellow Morels, Giant Morels, Half Free Morels, and Black Morels. Wild Cherry Trees Wild cherry trees can occasionally produce morels. I typically do not seek them out but when walking across patches of them I sometimes find morels. Britt Bunyard often recommends checking stands of wild cherry in waste areas such as along railroad tracks. WHAT Half-Free Morels and Black Morels. Conifer Trees Many different types of stands of conifer trees will support morels. In the West, conifers forests can be very productive, but in the East they typically are not. WHERE: In the East where morels often blend in with their background, they are very difficult to spot. Occasionally, I come across coniferous habitat that has some of my other favorite types of morel trees scattered among them. In this situation with fallen needles covering the ground (and with little or no leaves or understory plants) it is a lot easier to spot morels. Half Free Morels (Morchella semilibera) Yellow or Giant Morels