# Jefferson, Franklin, St. Francois, Washington Counties



## beowulf75 (Mar 12, 2013)

Anyone?

Temps are there. We need rain ASAP!


----------



## Canofveggies (Mar 10, 2018)

beowulf75 said:


> Anyone?
> 
> Temps are there. We need rain ASAP!


I hope we get that rain on Wednesday! I stretched the legs in Franklin County last Friday, no shrooms but saw a few pods of mayapples here that were just about there. Gotta be getting close, I started finding them in numbers on the 9th last year.


----------



## beowulf75 (Mar 12, 2013)

Canofveggies said:


> I hope we get that rain on Wednesday! I stretched the legs in Franklin County last Friday, no shrooms but saw a few pods of mayapples here that were just about there. Gotta be getting close, I started finding them in numbers on the 9th last year.


The rain will (hopefully) be huge. It’s almost too warm now and definitely too dry.

I guarantee I could walk into the woods bordering my yard and find a morel within 5 minutes...only because I know exactly where they pop first. I could also guarantee it’d be about 1/2 the size of my thumb and I‘d crush a dozen under the leaves that I DIDN‘T see.

Trying to do better to practice the zen of patience this year....

ohmmmmmmm


----------



## Jdenny21 (Apr 5, 2020)

Agree with you, though not in my yard, but have a spot 2 minutes drive from my house. I'm in Chesterfield (west st. Louis suburb) where in MO are you?


----------



## timh1983 (May 1, 2014)

Good to see a forum for our neck of the woods! I’m in jeffco. Sunday went to a new spot I found last year a short walk from the house. Nothing to be found but an old empty can of schiltz malt liquor dated 1975. The soil is getting really dry man we need the rain!


----------



## Jdenny21 (Apr 5, 2020)

Jdenny21 said:


> Agree with you, though not in my yard, but have a spot 2 minutes drive from my house. I'm in Chesterfield (west st. Louis suburb) where in MO are you?


----------



## Jdenny21 (Apr 5, 2020)

I prefer the 40 oz. size... For target practice too, lol. Yes, too warm and way too dry, hopefully we get dumped on over the next day or so! Good luck to you!


----------



## beowulf75 (Mar 12, 2013)

Jdenny21 said:


> Agree with you, though not in my yard, but have a spot 2 minutes drive from my house. I'm in Chesterfield (west st. Louis suburb) where in MO are you?


I’m in Hillsboro, Jefferson County. Up in the highlands.

I’ll keep you all posted, please do the same.
This rain ought to make the morels go “pop!”


----------



## ckorte (Oct 8, 2014)

I found 1 after 1.5 hours of walking in Madison county Illinois. Usually have good early spots. Hopefully last nights rain helped.


----------



## morel fun (Apr 10, 2021)

Found about a dozen small grays near the Franklin/washington county border. Under dead elms werent there 2 days ago. Left them hoping they grow a bit only about an inch tall.


----------



## Jdenny21 (Apr 5, 2020)

Found a few small ones, 1 grey and 4 blacks, yesterday afternoon


----------



## beowulf75 (Mar 12, 2013)

Jdenny21 said:


> Found a few small ones, 1 grey and 4 blacks, yesterday afternoon


Nice!
The ones you’re referring to as blacks appear to actually be 1/2 free morels, aka _Morchella punctipes. _
For whatever reason, many people get nervous about these and tend to label them as “false morels.” They’re delicious, although a bit crumbly. They are known for affecting a small percentage of people with loose stool.



Morchella punctipes (MushroomExpert.Com)











The Half-Free Morel : Morchella Punctipes


Classification & Identification: Still Waiting For Spring in Wisonsin While we cannot get into our snow covered woods just yet... We'll look at the Half-Free Morel, which is often one of the first mushrooms of the Morchellaceae family in the Order Pezizales to pop through the foliage in spring...




livegreatfood.com













Half-Free Morel


The half-free morel has a honeycombed cap with brownish black ridges and yellowish brown pits; the bottom half hangs free from the whitish stalk; it is completely hollow. April–May. The cap is conical, with honeycomb-like ridges and pits; the ridges are brownish black; the pits are yellowish...




nature.mdc.mo.gov


----------



## shroomsearcher (Apr 7, 2018)

I think people get nervous because there are 2 species of false morels that resemble the half-free. These are _Verpa conica _and _V. bohemica. _They are easy to tell apart. The true half-free morel is completely hollow just like all the true morels. The 2 verpa species have a white, cottony sustance in the stem, and they will make you sick. I find quite a few verpa where I find yellow morels. I have only found one true half-free in my life. The instant my fingers touched it, it crumbled!


----------



## beowulf75 (Mar 12, 2013)

shroomsearcher said:


> I think people get nervous because there are 2 species of false morels that resemble the half-free. These are _Verpa conica _and _V. bohemica. _They are easy to tell apart. The true half-free morel is completely hollow just like all the true morels. The 2 verpa species have a white, cottony sustance in the stem, and they will make you sick. I find quite a few verpa where I find yellow morels. I have only found one true half-free in my life. The instant my fingers touched it, it crumbled!


They are crumbly ones, for sure! Nice additions to soups and pasta, though.

Good advice on cutting anything suspicious to check for ”hollowness.” Is that even a word? If not, it is now!

Some years, they’re thick. Some other years I never see a single one.


----------



## Jdenny21 (Apr 5, 2020)

Thank you for the clarification Beo and searcher; found 30+ more today in the same acre or so area. I've been morel hunting for about 9 years (spring turkey hunting turned into morel hunting) and have had good luck and knowledgeable hunting buddies when it comes morel knowledge (aka hollowness). 

Found this false morel 3 weeks ago when scouting for gobblers.

I definitely can use some help id'ing the different species of morels. 

Thank you again.


----------



## beowulf75 (Mar 12, 2013)

Jdenny21 said:


> Thank you for the clarification Beo and searcher; found 30+ more today in the same acre or so area. I've been morel hunting for about 9 years (spring turkey hunting turned into morel hunting) and have had good luck and knowledgeable hunting buddies when it comes morel knowledge (aka hollowness).
> 
> Found this false morel 3 weeks ago when scouting for gobblers.
> 
> ...


You’re welcome!
Yes indeed, it’s addictive. It’s something I look forward to year round.


Your false morel is known in the mycological world as _Gyromitra esculenta. _Common names include Arkansas morels and big reds. They’re kind of an oddity in that although they have been associated with poisonings, even fatal ones, it’s rare and many people eat them without an issue.

Toxicology reports find a chemical in some specimens that’s also a component of rocket fuel. This toxin appears to vary from region to region and from specimen to specimen. Additionally, people seem to have varying degrees of sensitivity to them.

Although I know lots of people who eat them with impunity, I won’t touch them.

NOT recommended!


----------



## Jdenny21 (Apr 5, 2020)

Good to know, I left it as I've had severe food poisoning before (3 am at white castle's in my younger days) which almost resulted in kidney failure and was the worst I've ever had felt in my life... So I error on the side of caution. 

Question for you Beo: are you in the Mycology field professionally?


----------



## beowulf75 (Mar 12, 2013)

Jdenny21 said:


> Good to know, I left it as I've had severe food poisoning before (3 am at white castle's in my younger days) which almost resulted in kidney failure and was the worst I've ever had felt in my life... So I error on the side of caution.
> 
> Question for you Beo: are you in the Mycology field professionally?


----------



## Jdenny21 (Apr 5, 2020)

👍🏻, thanks again for your advice.


----------



## timh1983 (May 1, 2014)

While travelling this weekend stopped real quick in an old spot I have in Ohio in Montgomery county (Dayton). Going to be a banner year over there. I found a bunch of little guys around these tree types in the second photo, can anyone 'name that tree' based on the bark type?


----------



## Jdenny21 (Apr 5, 2020)

Cottonwood I believe.


----------

