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 Gumby
Fishnologist
 
Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 23,933
Loc: BRICK CITY, NIGGA! 
Last seen: 2 hours, 19 minutes
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 Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) 
#10281854 - 05/04/09 12:34 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Okay mofos, so I know I've been MIA from this forum since I moved to NJ and stepped down from modding (about 3 years ago) and haven't made any quality posts here since then. Living about 5 miles away from Manhattan will kinda kill your mushroom hunting career. Most of my hunting in the ghetto-ass city I live in is hunting down used needles in the streets so I don't step on them, or looking out for crackheads so I can avoid them.
Needless to say, it's past time I share some pics and tips with you guys. I miss this forum, but I just don't keep up with it if I'm not out there hunting myself.
I finally went hunting this past weekend. I went down to southeast PA (about 30-40 min outside Philly) to chill with a fellow Shroomery member named Newbie. He's a cool ass dude, very hospitable, very intelligent and down to earth, and an awesome cook to boot. I met him at the NE09 gathering. Since he's big into cooking and whatnot, I told him I'd show him how to hunt morels since the season just started here a week or two ago. We recently had a ridiculous heat wave (like 90ºF+ in NYC for 3 days), so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I thought the heat wave could have ended the season before it started. Man was I wrong.
Newbie asked me what kind of habitat we needed to hunt morels, so I told him we need a river or a creek with flood-planes and a lot of hardwood trees. He did his research and took me out to a place. At first we were plagued by some stupid ass plants that grew about 6 inches tall (pics in this post) and things weren't looking good. Eventually I stopped dead in my tracks and yelled out "Holy shit, come look at this man!" We found morels. The biggest fucking morels I've ever seen. In GA I usually found morels that were MAYBE 3-4 inches tall at the most. The beasts we found this hunt were hitting 6.5"-7" tall. Ridiculous.
I'm gonna quit blabbing and show you guys a shitload of pics. I'm going to try to do captions, but I might get bored with it/decide to finish a Field Ecology term paper. If that happens I'll finish captions... uh... when I feel like it. Gonna be busy the next few days.
Here's pics:
I was thinking we would never find anything, then I saw these. All of the following morels were found growing under/near Sycamore trees.
More of the first morels we found. Old, dried out, kinda grody. Not the best for eating.
We moved further down the river and finally found some GIANTS that were worth eating.
This one was a beast. That knife is 8.75" from tip of blade to end of handle
Picture perfect morel
I don't really bother with morel distinctions, but this is what I'd call a gray morel. I really think it's just a young yellow/blonde morel. Don't know, don't think it makes a difference, don't care.
Another friggin' giant. For some perspective, I have abnormally large hands, from my wrist to tip of middle finger it's around 8 inches.
The final haul. Probably around 4-5lbs total. We tossed out most of the old craptastic ones on the bottom right.
All washed up and ready to cook. I chopped the tips off so these guys would sink in the saltwater bath. I throw them in a mild saltwater dip for 2-5 minutes so all the bugs (mostly spiders) will get out of the mushrooms before we cook them. I can deal without protein in the form of bugs.
Newbie cooked these things up in some butter and put them on top of steak. It was orgasmic. Nom nom nom.
These were some of the plants that were hindering progress at the beginning of the hunt. No clue what they are, never seen them in the south. I'm willing to bet they're an invasive species. Anyone have any ideas?
Second plant that hindered morel hunting. They were like big-ass umbrellas that were about 8-12" tall and they had a single white flower (pictured). Again, any ideas?
This find was a first for me: Oysters worth eating. When I'd find them before they were either too small, growing in a very polluted environment, or too destroyed by bugs to eat. The taste/texture was... Okay. I'll have to experiment with different ways of cooking them.
Some weird purple, hairy, oyster-looking mushrooms growing from the same dead tree as the oysters. Again, and idea on an ID?
Some random cool looking plant
The area we were hunting in used to be pretty industrial. Here's some of the junk that was left. Newbie called it "the flying speghetti monster's lair" 
Seeing how this is a website dedicated to actives, I saved the "best" for last. This is the first time I've EVER found Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata. We found them growing from a ground-down tree stump after we gave up on hunting morels in one location. A nice surprise. This would be the seventh species of active mushroom I've found. I have about all the species on the East Coast covered. Pacific Northwest, you're next 
These things appeared to have just started fruiting within the past 2-3 days at most. Most of what we found was pin stage. I felt guilty about picking them so young, but I need to get some prints and do some microscopy work to make sure they are Ovoids. Also want to see what the trip is like 
Notice how the pins were bluing the instant I picked them.
This was where we found them... Some kind of hardwood tree stump ground-down to the dirt.
Hope you guys enjoyed. If you have any habitat questions, or any questions or that matter, ask away.
(But if you ask me the location, I'm gonna h4x ur computard n find out whr u live n cum kick u n teh ballz.)
Oh yeah, I said these were giant morels. For size comparison, here's the morels I'm used to finding in GA:
Yeah there's a lot there, but they're hard as hell to spot and they are tiny.
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orison319
pre op t-squirrel
Registered: 01/19/09
Posts: 2,938
Last seen: 10 days, 20 hours
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 Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10281868 - 05/04/09 12:39 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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PA shout out.. 
nice finds.. 
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 24,722
Last seen: 19 hours, 30 minutes
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10281956 - 05/04/09 01:13 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Quote:
I don't really bother with morel distinctions, but this is what I'd call a gray morel. I really think it's just a young yellow/blonde morel. Don't know, don't think it makes a difference, don't care.
The color varies a lot, I look more at the structure of the pits.
Quote:
I don't really bother with morel distinctions, but this is what I'd call a gray morel. I really think it's just a young yellow/blonde morel. Don't know, don't think it makes a difference, don't care.
Its Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple).
Quote:
Some weird purple, hairy, oyster-looking mushrooms growing from the same dead tree as the oysters. Again, and idea on an ID?
Thats a hairy panus.
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Gumby
Fishnologist
Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 23,933
Loc: BRICK CITY, NIGGA!
Last seen: 2 hours, 19 minutes
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#10282110 - 05/04/09 02:17 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Alan, if you had to take a stab at the morel IDs, what would you say we found the most of? What are the few gray, darker, smaller ones? Just young yellow/blonde morels?
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 24,722
Last seen: 19 hours, 30 minutes
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10282128 - 05/04/09 02:28 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Quote:
Alan, if you had to take a stab at the morel IDs, what would you say we found the most of?
I think you found this one
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/morchella_deliciosas.html
compare with
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/morchella_yellow.html
and check here to see if you can find a better match
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/mdcp/results_legend.html
Quote:
What are the few gray, darker, smaller ones? Just young yellow/blonde morels?
Yea, they are colored differently when they are small.
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Gumby
Fishnologist
Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 23,933
Loc: BRICK CITY, NIGGA!
Last seen: 2 hours, 19 minutes
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#10282147 - 05/04/09 02:39 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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I'd say all of them are Classic North American Yellow Morel. I guess that'd be M. deliciosa.
What is the difference between M. esculenta and M. deliciosa? Same thing, messed up taxonomy?
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 CureCat
Strangest
Registered: 04/19/06
Posts: 13,949
Loc: clawing your furniture
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 Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10282310 - 05/04/09 04:42 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Quote:
Gumby said:
I thought the heat wave could have ended the season before it started. Man was I wrong.
I know- similar case here in CA! Alan and I went hunting and found a bunch of morels two weeks ago, and then there was an ungodly heat wave for about 4 or 5 days right after, so we were hesitant to go out and potentially waste our time the weekend after... But then the photos and reports came in from people STILL finding lots of them the weekend after the heat wave. So we went out on Saturday (2 weeks from the last hunt) and they were still fruiting!!
We didn't find as many this time, but we caught some n00b hunters in "our" patch, so they got most of the obvious ones. Sadly, we also found a bunch of rotten ones.
Quote:
Gumby said:
Same thing, messed up taxonomy?
Morchella is a total MESS!
It seems odd that one or a few species would be saprobic when the majority of species in the genus are clearly mycorrhizal. I am unaware of any (other..?) monophyletic genus that contains both mycorrhizal and saprobic species.
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inski
Cortinariologist
Registered: 02/28/06
Posts: 2,551
Loc: New Zealand 
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10282348 - 05/04/09 05:03 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Nice Morels and Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata!
I think the first plant you mention is Dichondra repens.
Don't forget where that rotted stump is
inski.
edit: upon closer inspection it doesn't look like that plant, the leaves are too lobed to be D. repens.
Edited by inski (05/04/09 05:06 AM)
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Gumby
Fishnologist
Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 23,933
Loc: BRICK CITY, NIGGA!
Last seen: 2 hours, 19 minutes
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: CureCat]
#10282718 - 05/04/09 07:28 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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I had no clue that some Morchella were considered saprobic. I've always known them to be mycorrhizal. I only ever find them growing near poplars and sycamores.
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sheikofshiitake
Stranger
Registered: 04/03/09
Posts: 168
Last seen: 1 year, 10 months
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10282820 - 05/04/09 08:09 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Hey Gumby we need to get Neuro out of his study and into the woods! Good score! I would consider that the season there is getting towards the end. Based on not seeing any half free or Black morels.
That heat wave forced them all out at one time. I been pickin half free, black, yellow/grey the past week all at the same time. Well the first two days I didn't find any Yellows. They came out after I started checking the spot. Usually they come out in a rhythm that overlaps slightly. This year they kicked it up a half step here.
This year has been my best yet. Went out four days in a row and filled up my small sack every time. Did a few drive by stop and grabs, driving down through wooded hollows. Say I got between 2 and 3 gallons. I need to get batteries for my cam. But when I wanna go hunt I go hunt. The store is in the other direction...
poplars and sycamores ftw!
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xFrockx
Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 8,710
Loc: Northeast
Last seen: 3 hours, 1 minute
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: sheikofshiitake]
#10282847 - 05/04/09 08:18 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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I found my first morel ever today in WV very close to PA, it was a young white one, I found it next to a riverbank. I was actually looking for bluefoots but didn't find any, so it was a nice suprise.
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Newbie
User of semicolons.
Registered: 07/18/04
Posts: 21,267
Loc: Suburbia
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10283215 - 05/04/09 10:32 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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I'm going to head back to that stump on Wed. or Thurs. depending on the rain situation.. We picked it dry but left the mycelial networks in pretty good shape so I'd expect to see some more, the only question is, how long before some nice adults? Does it follow the same pattern cubes do as far as pin growth or will it be faster? I didn't see any pins yet but I know from experience that cubes (indoor) take at least a week or so from primordia to mushroom but you said to check it in a few days so I dunno..
And for the morels, should I wait until the rain is done or just check in a few days anyway? In other words, do outdoor mycelium wait until the rain stops or do they just pop up whenever their substrate reaches field capacity? I guess same question goes for the Ovoids.
PS. Thanks again for coming out here, I wasn't expecting to be nearly as successful as we were. Shit I was happy if I saw one edible. We hit the fucking jackpot man. 
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Gumby
Fishnologist
Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 23,933
Loc: BRICK CITY, NIGGA!
Last seen: 2 hours, 19 minutes
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: sheikofshiitake]
#10283220 - 05/04/09 10:34 AM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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I think the season just started about a week or two ago, so that should give us another two-three weeks I'm hoping. I've never found the half free morels, I'd like to find some of those. They grow in the same areas the yellows do? Bigger or smaller?
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xFrockx
Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 8,710
Loc: Northeast
Last seen: 3 hours, 1 minute
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10283853 - 05/04/09 12:46 PM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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"Second plant that hindered morel hunting. They were like big-ass umbrellas that were about 8-12" tall and they had a single white flower (pictured). Again, any ideas?"
Those are may apples.
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weiliiiiiii
Stranger
Registered: 10/10/03
Posts: 9,711
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10284068 - 05/04/09 01:30 PM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Quote:
Gumby said:
I had no clue that some Morchella were considered saprobic. I've always known them to be mycorrhizal. I only ever find them growing near poplars and sycamores.
I find them in the open areas all the time, flood plains FTW.
Anyways nice finds gumby, have you ever gone morel hunting in the GA mountains? Most of the ones up there grow larger than the ones at the base of the mountains, as large or larger than the ones you posted.
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 24,722
Last seen: 19 hours, 30 minutes
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: CureCat]
#10284085 - 05/04/09 01:32 PM (3 years, 23 days ago) |
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Quote:
I am unaware of any (other..?) monophyletic genus that contains both mycorrhizal and saprobic species.
Amanita and Boletus have a couple saprobic members.
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CureCat
Strangest
Registered: 04/19/06
Posts: 13,949
Loc: clawing your furniture
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10285617 - 05/04/09 05:44 PM (3 years, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
Gumby said:
I had no clue that some Morchella were considered saprobic. I've always known them to be mycorrhizal. I only ever find them growing near poplars and sycamores.
Most are apparently mycorrhizal, but some (such as M. rufrobrunnea) grow in absence of trees, from wood chips, disturbed soil, bark, etc. Morels have also been cultivated indoors; Ronald Ower was the first documented cultivator of morels, and patented a process of cultivating them. This type of Morel was most likely M. rufrobrunnea.
Kuo states on a lot of his pages that mycorrhizal species may sometimes be saprotrophic, and vice versa, but there is no hard evidence to substantiate the notion of any mushroom species exhibiting an ability to take advantage of its environment and be either a symbiote OR saprobe, according to Else Vellinga and Tom Bruns.
Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said:
Amanita and Boletus have a couple saprobic members.
You told me that a couple weeks ago. Rod Tulloss says that A.thiersii is doubtfully mycorrhizal, in the subsection Vittadiniae which includes a majority of species with "doubtful mycorrhizal relationships". But he says that the study regarding their relationships or growth habits are thus inconclusive.
I have heard rumour that they may be mycorrhizal with grass, but I can't find anywhere that Rod addresses this possibility.
And a search for non-mycorrhizal or saprobic species of Boletus didn't lead me to any reliable information.
Oh, remember how you were wondering about those big holes in the ground all over the burn area?? You're assumption that a tree may have burned down to the trunk and roots leaving a gaping hole in its place seems to be correct:
Quote:
the morels were appearing everywhere, especially on the sides of the holes created where trees burned well into the ground.
Though Volk was referring to Eastern Morchella, and I certainly didn't pick any morels from these ditches. I looked in and around them a lot, since a lot of mushrooms like to grow from uneven or disturbed ground. Did you find any in the holes?
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sheikofshiitake
Stranger
Registered: 04/03/09
Posts: 168
Last seen: 1 year, 10 months
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10286700 - 05/04/09 08:06 PM (3 years, 22 days ago) |
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I'll get out the camera and take a few shots tomorrow. I figure a couple more weeks too. There are still blacks and yellows out that are pretty small. Just came up maybe 3 or 4 days ago. The half free ones are a kicker. Really kinda pecker like. Say the largest was at least a palm width and an inch five inches about. But some are smaller 2 to 3 inches. Found them near Blacks, Grays, and Yellows.
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 24,722
Last seen: 19 hours, 30 minutes
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: CureCat]
#10287085 - 05/04/09 08:50 PM (3 years, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
And a search for non-mycorrhizal or saprobic species of Boletus didn't lead me to any reliable information.
There are a couple but I don't remember the species name.
Quote:
Did you find any in the holes?
No.
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wowitch17
Growery is Better
Registered: 01/10/06
Posts: 8,537
Loc: Chile
Last seen: 3 months, 11 days
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Re: Hunting in PA: Morels, Oysters, Unknowns and... OVOIDS! (TONS of PICS!) [Re: Gumby]
#10288037 - 05/04/09 11:48 PM (3 years, 22 days ago) |
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awesome hunt man
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