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claptrap
Stranger
Registered: 12/30/07
Posts: 8
Last seen: 16 years, 2 months
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Morel in San Francisco?
#7815234 - 12/30/07 09:14 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hello. Mushroom hunting is a fairly new hobby for me, and I'm mostly just getting the hang of locating proper habitat and what not. Today in San Francisco, I came across a few of these guys. To my inexperienced eyes, they look like black morels. However, I understand that it would be usual to find those in this habitat-- essentially an untended planter, with some dead wood, in a park. The smell mostly matches what I've read about morels-- musky, almost brine-y. The cap is about 3 inches tall, and about an inch in diameter. The stem is about 2/3 of an inch long. I would have taken a spore print, but I'm not really sure how one would do that with this unusually shaped cap. Any input?
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sui
I love you.
Registered: 08/20/04
Posts: 32,534
Loc: Cali, Contra Costa Co.
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: claptrap]
#7815244 - 12/30/07 09:18 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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ive found morels in the east bay. Looks like em to me.
-------------------- "There is never a wrong note, bend it." Jimi Hendrix
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elflord420
bringer of thedawn
Registered: 10/02/07
Posts: 281
Loc: washington
Last seen: 10 years, 5 months
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: claptrap]
#7815282 - 12/30/07 09:33 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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nice find, morels in a planter who wudda thunk it
-------------------- Dont ever eat mushrooms and watch Total Recall
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landsnorkler
Registered: 09/26/06
Posts: 3,047
Loc: Montana
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: elflord420]
#7815363 - 12/30/07 10:03 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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were there any trees nearby, if so what kind?
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claptrap
Stranger
Registered: 12/30/07
Posts: 8
Last seen: 16 years, 2 months
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: landsnorkler]
#7815410 - 12/30/07 10:23 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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@landsnorkler: Yes, I'm pretty sure there were trees near this find (maybe even in the planter itself). However, I didn't make a note of which type. I was kind of in disbelief at the find itself at the time. I'll be going back in the next day or two to collect the rest of the specimens, and I'll do a better assessment of the habitat.
Are there other mushrooms that look this similar to a morel? And if so, are they dangerous to consume?
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landsnorkler
Registered: 09/26/06
Posts: 3,047
Loc: Montana
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: claptrap]
#7815448 - 12/30/07 10:43 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Well, it's definitely a black morel, morchella elata. Here in Montana, I only find black morels in mixed conifer forest above 6,000 feet, so I was just surprised they were picked from such a developed environment...
watch out for these guys, verpa bohemica, their cap is totally free from the stem, as you can see on the sliced specimen. People have reported poisonings:
let's see some pics of the final harvest!!!
Edited by landsnorkler (12/30/07 10:46 PM)
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ToxicMan
Bite me, it's fun!
Registered: 06/28/02
Posts: 6,725
Loc: Aurora, Colorado
Last seen: 7 hours, 15 minutes
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: claptrap]
#7815523 - 12/30/07 11:19 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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As the others have already noted, that is a morel.
When you go back, the "trees nearby" we need to know about are *any* trees close enough that if they were cut down they could possibly hit you. If you don't know what kind of tree one is, a good thing to do is pick a leaf or three or a twig with needles if it's a pine.
Great find.
If you intend to eat them, be sure to cook them thoroughly. Raw and undercooked morels are somewhat poisonous.
Happy mushrooming!
-------------------- Happy mushrooming!
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claptrap
Stranger
Registered: 12/30/07
Posts: 8
Last seen: 16 years, 2 months
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: ToxicMan]
#7815623 - 12/31/07 12:14 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Thanks for the awesome feedback. I'm excited to eat this guy and his brothers (there were only a few more), assuming they're still alive. I'll check out the tree situation on my next visit and report back.
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claptrap
Stranger
Registered: 12/30/07
Posts: 8
Last seen: 16 years, 2 months
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: claptrap]
#7816954 - 12/31/07 12:42 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Update: I went back to the spot this morning (just about got frostbite in the fingers, there were ice crystals on woodchips-- it's been very cold in SF these days).
There were three additional morels, but unfortunately two were starting to get moldy. I should have grabbed them yesterday.
The only tall tree in the vicinity was, get this, a large and well-manicured palm. The planter itself is full of what appear to be alder wood chips.
I also snapped a photo of some additional mushrooms growing a few feet from the morels. I apologize for the crummy quality, cameraphone was all I had.
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CureCat
Strangest
Registered: 04/19/06
Posts: 14,058
Loc: clawing your furniture
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: claptrap]
#7816965 - 12/31/07 12:46 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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That is Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca.
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,358
Last seen: 7 days, 16 hours
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Re: Morel in San Francisco? [Re: claptrap]
#7816985 - 12/31/07 12:52 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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> I also snapped a photo of some additional mushrooms growing a few feet from the morels.
http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Hygrophoropsis_aurantiaca.html
Your morel is this one.
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