Many years ago, after I had finished mowing my lawn, I was resting on the porch when my daughter came up to me and said, “Dad, you have some weird stuff on your boots!” I did indeed, as squashed morels covered my soles. We walked through the yard and beneath the old apple trees we found enough morels left for a small mess.

Morel mushrooms fruit early in the spring when the may apple come out and the apple trees blossom. Some say when the oak leaves are the size of mouse ears is also a good marker, but as I am not in the habit of checking out mouse ears, I go with the may apple.

The golden brown, smoky grey or black top of the morel mushroom looks like a pine cone and sets on a smooth cream colored stem. “Morels are hollow all the way through,” Dick Dougall of the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club states.

I encourage you to take a stroll this spring (mid-March to early May) when the weather is warming and after a nice warm rain and look under dying elms, apple and popular trees. I have also found morels in the flood plains of small streams.

Morels and trout, morels and asparagus, morels and wild turkey (the bird-not the bourbon) are among some of the many ways to enjoy them. Find recipes and links to useful Web sites at www.thegreatmorel.com

    Most “shroomers” like to dip them in an egg batter and fry them in butter. I like to cut them into small pieces and add to hamburger gravy. If you eat the gravy with mashed potatoes and ramps as side dishes, you may experience some gastrointestinal reaction. You may blame this on the ramps or perhaps your beverage.

Before you eat wild mushrooms:

1. Correctly identify the mushroom.

2. Eat only fresh mushrooms.

3. Do not eat morels raw.

Check out these guides:

A Guide to Mushrooms by Giovanni Pacioni

A Field Guide to Southern Mushrooms by Nancy Smith Weber and Alexander H. Smith