Treehouse Magazine: The Magical and Mysterious Mushroom

Transcribed for our international readers:

BEFORE ANY LEARNING MATERIALS ARE DOWNLOADED,

PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT SAFETY STATEMENT.

Treehouse Magazine and its affiliates are in no way liable for any ingestion, false identification, sickness, or death as a result of improper identification of toxic and non-toxic mushroom specimens. Do not attempt to "force" an identification of a description that you might find in the wild. For this reason, we strongly advise that the novice mushroom hunter consult MULTIPLE reliable references or an experienced nature guide who can positively identify the mushroom in question before it is eaten. Wild mushrooms should NEVER be eaten raw.

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The Magical and Mysterious Mushroom

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My earliest experience as a child with wild mushrooms was: "Under no circumstances should you ever touch or eat a wild mushroom." As I grew older, that stayed with me, and I found myself telling my children that same old tired line as well. This was mainly because I hadn't done enough research and lacked confidence in the subject matter to offer any other reasonable explanation. Honestly, I think it is because I want to keep them safe if they're alone and encounter something poisonous; they would be safer if they just didn't touch it. *I also didn't want to be the Mom who inadvertently poisoned her children because they handled and accidentally ingested an Amanita bisporigera, better known as the Destroying Angel.*

There are no foragers in my family, and the only mushrooms that I had ever eaten were the white button, crimini, and portobellos (all different growth stages of the same species, Agaricus bisporus) from the local grocery store. I would often run through the many acres of woods behind my Grandmother's house and jump on puff balls and watch the spores waft across the air, kick mushroom caps off of their stems, and relish in any new discoveries that a fresh fall rain brought. But that changed one day in May, early this year, when I encountered something totally new and exciting.

The snow was melting here in Wisconsin, and I was eager to get back out and start my morning trail runs again after spending most of the winter cooped up doing contract work for KiwiCo, longing for the great outdoors. The cool mornings always gave way to warm sunny days and again to cooler nights. The air smelled earthy, and Mother Nature was starting to show her beauty; small shoots were reaching towards the sky from under dead leaf litter and squirrels, and chipmunks scurried beneath the forest floor in search of black walnuts. I was always so thankful (even while I winced in pain from being so out of shape) to witness those little changes daily.

One day, I was photographing a beautiful patch of lily of the valley (toxic/non-edible) that was growing on the hillside, and following them along the steep trail. As I went to put my phone away, I stopped in my tracks. I turned my head and looked down, and next to a dead tree, amongst a few dandelions (edible), I encountered a mushroom that I'd never seen before in person, and immediately knew what it was: a Morel (Morchella esculenta). I composed myself, then looked up to see about 20 more scattered among the wood chips, blending in just enough to be inconspicuous to the average passerby. I was stunned. I had stumbled on one of the most choice edibles in the wild, and there wasn't another person in sight.

I quickly turned my running jacket into a makeshift carrying sack and pinched each tan stalk, just at the base, right above the wood chips, then gave it a slight shake to disperse spores. I was euphoric; one and then three more, so many Morels were going into my jacket. I felt like a small child finding easter eggs on a perfect spring morning, so I hurried back to my Jeep Wrangler to call my husband to tell him what I'd seen. He was a bit leery and unsure, because he was raised just like I was when it came to wild mushrooms; "You can look, but don't touch, and most certainly not eat." I knew I needed a reference to convince him (as well as myself), so I stopped by the local bookstore on my way home and picked up Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest by Teresa Marrone and Kathy Yerich. This fantastic book has been my go-to guide for hunting wild mushrooms. The pictures are wonderful, and the information is clear and not too technical. Perfect for the novice mushroom hunter like myself.

Scanning the index, I finally found the section on Morels and read on to learn why they were so special. Morels are only around for 3 to 4 weeks each spring. I also learned that coveted Morel hunting grounds are passed down from generation to generation and are a well-kept secret within families. Because Morels are mycorrhizal, meaning they often grow in a symbiotic relationship with trees (typically found around trees that have died, especially elm, but also cottonwood; sometimes old fruit orchards), they usually come back in the same place season after season. On the open market, Morel mushrooms go for upwards of $35.00 a pound at farmers' markets (fresh) or $25.00 an ounce in grocery stores (dehydrated).

After I confirmed that my finds were indeed Morels (completely hollow inside) and not Verpas spp. or the toxic False Morel (Gyromitra spp.), I soaked them to remove any bugs or spiders that might have made themselves at home. If you water your garden with the water you used to wash the morels in, you might get lucky enough to have a few spores produce Morels the following year. So, I proceeded to water my flower box with the slurry and *fingers crossed* hope for Morels next spring. A girl can dream, amiright?!

That night I cleaned and pan-seared the Morels in butter, salt, and fresh garlic -- all four of us were hooked. The meaty texture was unlike anything my husband and I had ever tasted. The girls couldn't believe how different they were from the grocery-store variety and were fascinated by the almost brain-like pitted texture of the cap, poking their tiny fingers into the holes and giggling with excitement. How many other delicious wild edibles had I avoided over 30+ years of my life because I feared death or just a really upset digestive tract? So, I broke out my Nesco dehydrator, split what we had left over, dried it on the lowest setting overnight, and put it in a large Mason jar with food-grade silica gel packs. (I'll occasionally just put my nose in the jar and breathe in the smell; so earthy and wonderful, there is nothing else like it in the universe.)

Since that day, I have been on a mission to learn all I can about wild mushrooms, even the toxic ones. The way I see it is like this: our children look to us for guidance, and when they see how passionate we are about whatever in life makes us happy, they naturally want to take part. My girls will now stop and want to know more about the mushroom they are looking at, and they are 3 and 5. I've found that they are the perfect size for hunting mushrooms because, naturally, they are just so close to the ground. I'll break out my book, and we'll talk about it. I love seeing the passion they have for wild mushrooms on the trail. These moments will stay with me as treasured memories of their eagerness to connect with something that we share as a family.

So here we are. I have been researching this issue #5 for the past few months and have learned so much. I decided it was time to dig deep and put all my knowledge out there so other families might want to learn more about the magical, mysterious world of mushrooms.

You will see that I've created an identification sheet and a spore print template. I do not want to see specimens in the group that have not been thoroughly researched using a trusted method, such as a spore print. No guessing or attempting to make your specimen "fit" the description of an edible that you're hoping for. Please understand that this learning process is not about edible mushrooms and how to find them. I want you and your family to learn the different types of mushrooms in your area, so you can identify them correctly when you are out with your children or on your own. As the old saying goes, "Live for the Hunt. Tell yourself and children that, and you'll stay grounded and focused on finding the answers that you're looking for when attempting to identify an edible species that might actually be a toxic look-alike.

Thank you all, as always, for supporting our small family magazine. It's just me, my husband, and our two girls, and we plan to pass along all this awesomeness to them as long as the Interwebs are around. Treehouse will always be a free resource for you and your tribe, and we love having such a fantastic community of like-minded families to share our journey with us!

-The Treehouse Family