Morel

[alex.swann]

Hello all.

My first thread so bare with me.

I've been looking without success for tips on finding Morels - most seem to be based in the states.

Does anyone have any tips - when and where to start looking?

Or know of any organised events coming up?

Alex

[nightshade]

Hi Alex,cannot help but welcome,someone will be along soon who will I have no doubt

[Helen]

Hi Alex and welcome to the forum. Hopefully someone can help you soon!

Regards

[Tragus]

Hi Alex and Welcome to WAB

My advice would be to buy a guide to Mushrooms and Fungi, such as the Collins Gem to begin with, these will provide the basic kind of info eg, size, shape, common names, habitats and seasons.

However if you are trying to find more local information then perhaps getting in touch with your local Wildlife Trust?

I found a site which gives a brief introduction into Fungi finding...
http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodive...crypfungi.html
Enjoy and happy fungi foraging!
Jo

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by alex.swann

Hello all.

My first thread so bare with me.

I've been looking without success for tips on finding Morels - most seem to be based in the states.

Does anyone have any tips - when and where to start looking?

Or know of any organised events coming up?

Alex

Hi Alex

Morels generally appear in the same location year after year. People who find them usually keep the location secret. Waste land / scrub areas are good places to look.

Late spring / Easter time is a good guide but it all depends on the weather

I would suggest looking up any fungi groups in your area. Also most UK areas now produce lists of local species/animals/insects/etc. Your local library can advise.

Good luck

John

[nightshade]

Is it fair for one person to have all the morels? a prosecution was attempted
recently with one person(a woman) taking all the available mushrooms in an area for commercial gain,this sort of exploitation should not be encouraged
Not you Alex of course is this a morel dilemma?

[endless autumn]

I'd like to know where to find morels too. But even if you know where to find them they can be almost impossible to spot (especially if you are a little colourblind, like me).

The British Mycological Society website has a distribution database of all UK species, which narrows down the areas you might want to start looking in to a 10km square.

Then, the usual spots people recommend are: orchards, old railway lines, elm trees (especially dying or dead), gardens, paths, sandy banks of rivers, grassy clearings, building sites, woods the year after forest fires etc. etc.

The only places I have found them are: in the back garden of my parents' house under an apple tree in the middle of one the best areas for morels in Europe (Catalan Pyrenees); directly outside my college library, on year-old woodchip (Oxfordshire); directly outside my girlfriend's workplace, on year-old woodchip (Teesside).

The easiest (and most fruitful) places to look, then, are garden centres/ supermarkets/ campuses, business parks which have laid down wood chip (especially pine, apparently) the year before. The morels (I hope) you will find will be Morchella elata; Morchella esculenta (rotunda) grows in the other, wilder places.

Good luck - I am going to have a look in Lincolnshire in a couple of weeks.

[Halgernon]

Hi all - I am a new user to the forum and came here to find info about a fungi that I have got growing in my front garden.

However, on doing a bit of searching around I am pretty sure that I have a good, healthy crop of morels. The pictures I have seen would suggest this to be the case, at least.

They seem to have grown from bark chippings that I bought to cover the ground. I have at least half a dozen of them, growing singly rather than in a group, varying in size from 3 to 7 inches in height. I very nearly removed them to throw away as they look rather, erm... unique and not in keeping with the 'planting plan' :-)

I have no experience with these at all, and am not (yet) into anything more than a supermarket bland kind of mushroom at best (sorry)! How do I make a definitive identification, and what would you suggest I do with them? If this forum supports the posting of images then I'll happily add some to help.

Thanks.

[Matthew_Heenan]

Hi, I'm looking for Morels this weekend in the Surrey area of UK. Only been interested in finding fungi since last October... not exacly an expert I'm from Australia so am learning much about the trees, soils etc. I'll have a look on British Mycological Society for distribution.

Has anyone found any Morels this Spring yet? Just want to know if this is a good year etc.

Regards

Matt

[cybershot]

There's been a little bit of discussion this year

The Morel season may be here

Also try the NBN Gateway for distribution maps. Surrey features quite markedly.

David

Nick C and I may just be heading for Puttenham on the The North Downs Way - Farnham to Guildford this w/e.