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The Morels Are Out
| Article
# : |
11332 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1986 |
1,120 Words |
| Author
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George Knaphus and Lois H. Tiffany
George Knaphus and Lois H. Tiffany are professors of botany at
Iowa State University. |
Few words evoke such magic as the springtime cry, "The morels are out!" The creeping gloom of a long winter and the gray lingering snow have retreated with a week of advancing sunlight. The mellow warmth or sunny days stirs the dormant life in the soil of the quiet woods. The underground filaments of the morel fungus gather energy and substance from within and focus on the reproductive structures. The young morels grow and cells, specialized to eventually produce spores, line the cavities of the sponge-like cap. Later these spores will be carried by the wind to sites far or near where they can develop into a new fungus body and after a few years produce other morel "mushrooms.'
Morels are most typically found on wooded slopes, hidden among the spring wildflowers and the weathered carpet of last year's leaves. They have, however, been collected in apple orchards, among the cotton-woods and elms in river bottoms, and even in lawns in towns. Every hunter has special indicators of a "good" morel site, and most successful hunters show the bulging sacks with triumph, but carefully guarded information about the place of collection.
The allure of the morel is magnified by the shortness of its season and the challenge of the hunt. In the central United States the three most commonly hunted species, the small gray morel, Morchella deliciosa, the tan morel, Morchella esculenta, and the giant tan morel, Morchella crassipes, (up to 12 inches tall!) usually appear in that order. However, in some places and in some seasons, they may occur simultaneously or with considerable overlap in occurrence. Less common are the half-free morel, Morechella semilibra, and the black morel, Morchella angusticeps. These species are all edible and delicious, although some connoisseurs prefer some more than others.
The season lasts only three or four weeks in late April and May and then rationality returns. With the return to normal living, there are no more white(?) lies about "where you found 'em"--"by the river," or "north of town," or "in the woods" and, yes, "on the ground." No more agreements to meet Joe at the crossroads at 7:00 A.M. and find him at 5:30 A.M. in your favorite spot with his sack full.
The seductive flavor of morels presents a powerful temptation. One year a man enjoyed the bounty of a lush growth of morels in his lawn. But the next year he was disappointed because there were none. One day, two weeks into the brief morel season, his neighbor said, "Did you know you have morels in your lawn? I pick a sackful every
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