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2021 Missouri Morel Season - Running Down A Dream

31K views 150 replies 36 participants last post by  D_licious 
#1 ·
A little early but it has been a long winter.
 
#6 ·
I would say the most common edible mushroom found year round is the Oyster mushroom its very tasty and easy to identify and grows on dead logs. Then theres the wood ear mushroom its not super flavorful but goes good in asian style food and soups also very easy to identify and grows on dead logs also. Then theres chicken of woods and hen of the woods which ive heard are very delicious but I have not found any yet but I read they are found on hardwoods trees. When you do find oysters and woodear they will keep growing in that spot as long as the condition are good. Anyway hope that helps a little and happy hunting =)
 
#8 ·
Nice cool down coming. Which is great. Now rain over much of morel alley, even better. If you depend on Ash trees for morels in spots you hunt I hate to say it but you better enjoy it while you can. I have entire forests I walk through up here in NW Mo. where over 50% of the Ash are dying now and the beetles will kill the rest also. It is sad to see giant old mature Ash with the brown spots that say its a goner. What will they eat when the Ash are gone? Very few large Elm left for the same reason, I watched them all die as I walked the same forests for the last 50 years.
 
#14 ·
In the Shenandoah many Ash trees were not totally killed. Many have sprouts coming up near the base of the Ash trees. It will take a while but hopefully some Ash will survive eventually. Not in my lifetime unfortunately. Look for any dead Ironwoods if they grow in your area. They are not large but have flushes similar to Dead Elms but can produce good finds for several years. (American hornbean)
 
#16 ·
I seriously doubt Black Walnut but possibly under the other Walnuts. Not much srprises me when it come to where morels sometimes are found. I've found them in mature pure red cedar forests in VA. Some can be found under some types of hickories or other nuts. Privet can hold the small type of morels. I've had very good luck under some long dead oaks with the large type,similar to tyhe dead Ash fruitngs but not nearly as many. One long dead Oak produced 24-36 "honkers":each year for close to 10 years before petering out. Sycamores can produce, especially very late in the season.
 
#19 ·
I live in Marion County Arkansas. Reports of morels are already being posted. I find it a bit odd, still don't have the tell-tell signs, such as redbuds blooming or mayapples up. I've seen pictures of morels in Bentonville and that makes sense because Bentonville is further south. But the reports of them being found in Marion County makes me wonder if 2021 is going to be as unpredicatable as 2020? That being said, guess I will go check a few spots tomorrow.
 
#23 ·
And, our elms have been so long dead that the elm/morel connection has kind of been broken. Only found morels under 1 elm ever. And it was still hanging on to its bark. Once the bark is gone, it's over.

A little research on the computer did reveal that elms have to be a certain age before they become susceptible to the disease, and they become sexually mature before that. So, they can produce seeds which can sprout into young elms, and I've actually found some. Never found morels near any of the young ones though.

It is thought by some that since morels have mycorrhizal relationships with elm, and other, trees that they can sense when the tree gets in trouble and that causes them to flush. That they "know" that they need to produce spore because their "partner" is threatened and they need to get out of Dodge! They also believe that the Dutch Elm Disease is responsible for the morel hunting craze, since it started such massive flushes!
 
#26 ·
And, our elms have been so long dead that the elm/morel connection has kind of been broken. Only found morels under 1 elm ever. And it was still hanging on to its bark. Once the bark is gone, it's over.

A little research on the computer did reveal that elms have to be a certain age before they become susceptible to the disease, and they become sexually mature before that. So, they can produce seeds which can sprout into young elms, and I've actually found some. Never found morels near any of the young ones though.

It is thought by some that since morels have mycorrhizal relationships with elm, and other, trees that they can sense when the tree gets in trouble and that causes them to flush. That they "know" that they need to produce spore because their "partner" is threatened and they need to get out of Dodge! They also believe that the Dutch Elm Disease is responsible for the morel hunting craze, since it started such massive flushes!
Interesting. Finding big elm is getting very difficult. Cut over timber about 30-50 years old seems to be a sweet spot if you can find it. Many species and gives a chance for new elm. The big oak timbers have very few left. My grandparents and father hunted them in the river bottoms on cottonwoods in the 30's and 40's long before the elm die offs. But the dying elm in the 60's did help the hunting. The old time farm people hunted them as part of a meal they did not need to pay for. Along with the eggs, ham. beef, and a big garden.
 
#24 ·
One of my favorites is the chanterelles. Every bit as good as morels. They look like an orange inverted umbrella with wavy edge. There is a look alike though, the jack-o-lantern, so be careful. The difference between the two is that chanterelles “gills” are not really gills at all, they're just folds that run all the way down the stalk. Other schrooms gills stop at a a specific location on the stalk...like a ring. Hen of the woods is another dandy.
 
#27 ·
All the elm are seeding in the timbers of N Mo.. A good time to see what an elm looks like if you are not sure. Look at the bark and branching structure. If you are walking in timber with no live elm, then there will never be any dead ones for morels. I avoid those places unless they have ash, and they are all dying.
 
#28 ·
Yeah there are a ton of elm in Missouri and Iowa (the two states I hunt the most) in the deep woods still. Farther away from development the more elms you will see because people haven’t carried the disease to the trees. Usually see the smaller slippery elms, as the giant old American elms seem to have been harder hit by the disease, as I rarely do see those anymore. But yes, the drier Oak/shagbark kinds of woods just don’t waste your time and only look for stands that are well varied with species of elm, ash, hackberry, pines, cottonwood, etc. Cottonwoods are good indicators because they are easily recognized from long ways away and usually grow in moister soils, which is what you want.
 
#29 ·
KB
Now that you mention it we did find a lot around a dead Honey Locust one year. Ill have to keep this in mind when we go to VA for 3 weeks later on in late April to early May. No Locust trees in SC where I occasionally hunt morels.
Mature Cedar forest can be good but need a lot of frequent rains t produce.
 
#31 ·
The honey locust like limestone also which morels like. I don't really look for honey locust but if I am walking through a patch of them I will scan for morels. I have never seen a big flush around them but they do not need to be dead. Hard maple are the same way.
 
#37 ·
Well, my hunting club is the location of an old limestone mining operation. We have lots of limestone here in NE Ohio and W PA. My buddy's old homestead has well water, and the well is dug 220' deep! They hit water much higher than that, but the depth of their well allows him to pull water right off the top of the big limestone dome that is underground beneath his house.

Having drunk a bunch of his tap water, I can tell you that it is delicious!
 
#35 ·
It was assumed that morels prefer sweet soil but after taking several dozen soil samples from SC to NJ All were from acidic soil. All had pH under 6.0 Some as low as 4.5. I got soil samples from many people across the country. One sample from Idaho had 8.0 pH. Soil samples were done by my local Clemson extension service and included all basic soil items such as iron. phosphorus potassium, and many other minerals and nutrients. There seemed to be nothing in common where morels fruited.
 
#40 ·
I’m in southern Missouri, east of Central; don’t know if these next couple nights of freezing temperatures or below will have an impact on things. We got a little less than 2/10 of an inch of rain this afternoon; they’re not forecasting much rain for the next week or so in my area. Going to have warm temperatures, but without the rain, I don’t know... hopefully the season will stick around until the second and third week of April, maybe. I guess we’ll find out, good luck, folks.
 
#48 ·
Most of the Ozarks region is elm poor. I am not sure what they hunt on down there. I would look around streams if you can find some soft maple, cottonwood, or river birch on them they all produce. Young willow groves also. Some people say they find them in the oak/hickory timbers down there but I never have much luck in those type timbers up north.. If you drive over to the strip pits in SE. Kansas there are many acres of cottonwoods and some elm.
 
#46 ·
Any day is a good day to be in the woods, either hunting mushrooms or just getting some exercise. I think Morels need some time with soil temp's in the mid 50's, but you may get that on Southern slopes this early, even with the little cold snap. I'm in St. Louis and I think we will be a few weeks out still. Usually the time I find them is Turkey season, week of the 19th this year but probably going to go out in a week and take a hike.
 
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