# Mushroom Hunt



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

I found 4 nice Hen-of-the-Woods.


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## blu_redneck (Dec 26, 2007)

All I can say is WWWWWOOOOOWWWWW! Great foraging there!


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

Nice!

I haven't been out as much collecting edible mushrooms so far this season, but with our warm August and early September with ground wetting rains ensure that there are plenty of the fall 'staples' of shrooms I will pick. So far this includes a few I've made meals with including boletes and puffballs.


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

Nice find, it's also been a great year for oyster mushrooms up here near Duluth.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Tink, is that you? You look like my old high school Math teacher! But surely you would have aged some in the last 30 years if you was my old Math teacher. 

Your area must not have missed out on rain much up there. We're just now getting rain after a long, long heat drought. Usually we have a yard full of Puff Balls by now, but not this year. This has got me worried about finding any other kinds of fall mushrooms including the Hen of the Woods mushroom. Hopefully this hurrican which is just now giving us some rain here in Oklahoma will help us out. 

Good find!


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Oldcountryboy said:


> Tink, is that you? You look like my old high school Math teacher! But surely you would have aged some in the last 30 years if you was my old Math teacher.
> 
> Your area must not have missed out on rain much up there. We're just now getting rain after a long, long heat drought. Usually we have a yard full of Puff Balls by now, but not this year. This has got me worried about finding any other kinds of fall mushrooms including the Hen of the Woods mushroom. Hopefully this hurrican which is just now giving us some rain here in Oklahoma will help us out.
> 
> Good find!


A long, hot, wet summer. The skeeters were as plentiful as the 'shrooms.


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

tinknal, do you happen to know what the most Southern range is that Hen-of-the-woods can be found? I'm not finding anything on google as far as range (just finding they're in the NE) and don't have a field guide. We do have lots of oaks around here (Cent. IL). They sound like wonder food from what I'm reading about them.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

SueMc said:


> tinknal, do you happen to know what the most Southern range is that Hen-of-the-woods can be found? I'm not finding anything on google as far as range (just finding they're in the NE) and don't have a field guide. We do have lots of oaks around here (Cent. IL). They sound like wonder food from what I'm reading about them.


Oldcountryboy alludes to them in OK so I'm sure they are in IL. Have you had a cool spell yet?


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

tinknal said:


> Have you had a cool spell yet?


Having one right now (50's) at night. I think I'll go for a hike this weekend!

I didn't read ocb's post close enough.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)




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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

SueMc/Tinknal

If my memories serve me right, I believe you mostly find those hen of the woods close to Red Oak trees. Is that where you found yours Tink?


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Oldcountryboy said:


> SueMc/Tinknal
> 
> If my memories serve me right, I believe you mostly find those hen of the woods close to Red Oak trees. Is that where you found yours Tink?


White and reds. I find most of them beneath white oaks but that could be because I have more white oaks than reds oaks. The sulfur shelf was on a red oak. About 16' above the ground. I had to use a long stick to knock it off.

I froze 6 1 gallon freezer bags today, cooked up a panfull for supper, and gave 2 of them to a friend.


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## backwoodsman (Jan 21, 2010)

Sue we have Hen of the Woods here in abundance some years and some years they are scarce. Dead, dying or diaseased oaks seem to produce the majority of them. Most morels and Hen of the Woods are easy to distinquish but the puffballs etc can be tricky and some arent good to pick(read that as poisonous). We find a few each year while hunting 'sang but the 'sang is scarce here this year also. We're west of Springfield. We use to slice the puffballs after removing the outer "skin" about 1/4" thick and batter then fry them. Diced and cooked/sauteed up with some butter and garlic they are a great steak topping.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Many of the fall mushrooms are dependent upon the rains during the summer. Then several long cool nights trigger them to pop up. Went to pull out of the garden complex this evening and noted some white balls across the street. There's a line of trees there at the edge of a soccer field. Something told me that they were not there yesterday and that I should turn around and check them out. Probably 200 people were watching a soccer game and me picking up 4 nice fresh 4"-5" puffballs. Wasn't an hour later that my son stopped by with intentions of sharing half of the 7" pair that he'd just found in another location. He was happy to see that I already had some as it meant more for him! There are some white oaks in that little woods so I'll be nosing around in there the next few days. 

Martin


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks backwoodsman. I'm going out hunting this weekend. We're SE of Decatur. Seems like there are several Illinoisans on HT.


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## backwoodsman (Jan 21, 2010)

Your welcome, hope it helps. Yep theres a few of us. We prefer to cut the Hen off the tree put some just grab and pull hoping for the best. Gramps would only harvest enough for a few meals then return later for more. They freeze very well too. Either "raw" or breaded and fried 3/4 on each side and in between sheets of wax paperlike we do morels, green maters and squash. Some state/public ground allows harvesting of tree fungus and we have several around here that can be hotspots for them. We found a great big one last year someone had tore up with a stick. We were able to salvage about 1/2 of it. One of the pains of hutning public ground. Make sure of what your picking as some tree fungus's arent good to eat and some are poisonous. The pictures up above are very good and I would consider saving them for future reference.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Picked another 5 gallon pail full today. Also found a stinkhorn, strange little thing.


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## backwoodsman (Jan 21, 2010)

Heard of those stinkhorns, look similar to a morel.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

backwoodsman said:


> Heard of those stinkhorns, look similar to a morel.


Yeah, but they sure don't smell like one..


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## travis91 (Jul 26, 2005)

if i saw that in the woods my gut reaction wouldnt be yummy how do you prepare and cook it? i would love some pics?


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Goodness, I have gotta start being more aware of what is growing "on" the white and red oaks around here. I saw some reddish looking stuff (lots of it) growing on some trees one year and thought it was some type of fungus. ROFL Seems like it was .. only the edible/delicious type.

Is there any place that identifies what mushrooms show up during what season? In my ignorance I would probably be better off looking in the fall for awhile; but I would like to have an idea of which type(s) might show up.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

tinknal said:


> Yeah, but they sure don't smell like one..


Is this a false morel with a solid stem (not hollow)?


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

fishhead said:


> Is this a false morel with a solid stem (not hollow)?


Nope, it is "Phallus impudicus " (go ahead and laugh at the name, I did). It is covered with slime, and smells of rotting flesh. Flies are attracted to the smell and land on them. That is how they spread their spore. 

Haven't seen anything on edibility, not surprising since I can't imagine anyone wanting to try one after getting a whiff.....


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I can't smell. Is the stem hollow so I might mistake it for a morel?


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

fishhead said:


> I can't smell. Is the stem hollow so I might mistake it for a morel?


I found this one in the fall, well past the morel season. It was hollow, but it also had an open natural hole in the tip, unlike a morel. It really did look like a human penis. The webbing is also filled with slimy liquid, which I stupidly washed off before I took the picture. If you have ever seen a morel you would not confuse the two.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Earliest I have ever found sulfur shelf mushrooms. (Pictured with oyster mushrooms)


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Anyone out there finding any morels, yet?

Came across my first one on Apr 20th last year. It has been warmer this Spring, so I am hoping to see them pop up after the rain we just had...


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

K.B. said:


> Anyone out there finding any morels, yet?
> 
> Came across my first one on Apr 20th last year. It has been warmer this Spring, so I am hoping to see them pop up after the rain we just had...


LOL, we still have snow on the ground!


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

I'm sure the thaw will come soon enough!

We've got inky caps, fairy cups and some false morels all over right now. Just a matter of time.

Your hen of the woods in the pic at the top of this thread look great!


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## froebeli (Feb 14, 2012)

I'm patiently (oh forget that) waiting on the morels here in VA. Should be in the next two weeks. Thus begins my foraging season. Asparagus starts about the same time too.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Our Asparagus is up, also time to do some Spring shroom hunting... Mostly, we hunt for them in the Fall. Last year, 47#s of Chanterelles, which were mostly canned with the Venison.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

No sign of the morels at our place, yet. I heard that folks in Grants Pass are finding them already, though. They are about 40 miles away and ~800' lower elevation than my place.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Here they come! First ones I've found this year, so far. They are coming up one row over in the orchard, this year. It gets more sun, so I am betting on finding them in the same row as last year in another week or so.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Beautiful! I'm in the same area of the country as you, 2800 feet, and they are just popping. 6 in a little patch that always grows a few in my madrones. Had a bunch of falsies along one of my fences, hopeful for the real deal later this week. Going out tomorrow to look for more. Hunting for morels is so much fun, except when you find none.....


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

We're at ~1800 ft elevation, so it sounds like they are starting to come up all over the area.

Good luck with your hunting!


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Would anyone be willing to help direct me to a good southern OR or northern CA area for hunting Morels? Im not asking the location of anyone's prized hunting ground, but for more general places that are reasonably accessible and not on private lands. 
Is a forest service permit of some type required to hunt mushrooms? 

Some friends were asking me about this just last week. We are (rather obviously) beginners but have some prior experience with hunting and ID skills are to par. I know white fir stands are where we want to look... But other than this Morel picking is totally new to me! Any advice is appreciated!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

ShannonR said:


> Would anyone be willing to help direct me to a good southern OR or northern CA area for hunting Morels? Im not asking the location of anyone's prized hunting ground, but for more general places that are reasonably accessible and not on private lands.
> Is a forest service permit of some type required to hunt mushrooms?
> 
> Some friends were asking me about this just last week. We are (rather obviously) beginners but have some prior experience with hunting and ID skills are to par. I know white fir stands are where we want to look... But other than this Morel picking is totally new to me! Any advice is appreciated!


I live in WA, so that doesn't apply to me. However, I would HIGHLY recommend you take someone who is very experienced at IDing mushrooms, particularly Morels. The look alikes are toxic... They grow more commonly in areas after forest fires.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

ShannonR said:


> Would anyone be willing to help direct me to a good southern OR or northern CA area for hunting Morels? Im not asking the location of anyone's prized hunting ground, but for more general places that are reasonably accessible and not on private lands.
> Is a forest service permit of some type required to hunt mushrooms?
> 
> Some friends were asking me about this just last week. We are (rather obviously) beginners but have some prior experience with hunting and ID skills are to par. I know white fir stands are where we want to look... But other than this Morel picking is totally new to me! Any advice is appreciated!


Hi Shannon,

Here is a link to a site with some pretty general info, but it may give you a starting point.

http://cow-flipper.hubpages.com/hub/Hunting-Southern-Oregon-Morels


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I don't believe you need a NF permit unless you are selling them. Even then the permit is cheap. I would stick to NF land which is most of Southern Oregon! I've never paid too much attention to the trees, I find them in douglas fir forests, under madrones. There is an area called Howard Prairie in southern Jackson County close to CA that is renowned for it's morels. I can tell you that as it's not my stomping grounds! It's easy to get lost and separated from one another when your head is looking at the ground, so plan accordingly. 

And I'm not having much luck this weekend! Still some early yellow morels, but it got very cold, only 46 yesterday, frost and might snow today, ground temps barely 50.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Thank you both!


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