In previous years we’ve had sulfer shelf/chicken-of-the-woods turn up in the backyard (in one case, on a piece of rotting wood that had been buried in the ground). Now we’ve got what looks for all the world like a giant morel in the garden.
What we don’t have (and have no idea how to get) is a mycological expert who can declare a mushroom Officially Edible. So we can’t eat anything, just go around saying that if we could, that mushroom would sure be delicious. But five minutes on Wikipedia suggests what we have is really a morel, or at least not a false morel.
Never seen one before, don’t see any others around. But I guess it was in the neighborhood and just stopped by to say hi.
Forget everything I’ve said, a little research tells me that there are many kinds of false morels. The false morels we get are edible. I have no idea about your false morels. I should just keep my mouth shut, or only open it enough to eat a little chicken of the woods fried in garlic butter, picked when soft and spongy before the upper shell becomes hard.
This book makes it impossible to screw up identifying edible mushrooms. It features only mushrooms that aren’t easily confused with inedible ones, but also highlights all of the features, coloring, smell, etc. that you should look for – and tells for when you’ve got something you shouldn’t eat.
Do you have any apple trees near where you found the morel? They like to grow in old orchards and on the roots of rotting apple trees.
I lost a couple old apple trees and cut them down. A few years later I had morels popping up everywhere in the early spring. The flush only went on for a few years.
Go here to Fungi Perfecti and look around. You can buy a kit to grow many different types of edibles and even try to start a patch in a favorable area of your yard.
