Mushrooming in Michigan – upnorthvoice.com

Each year as the snow slowly melts away and the rains of April bring forth the freshness of the earth, we start thinking of getting outside. Out of doors, YES, after a winter of being trapped indoors trying to keep warm we get to venture forth and brave the wild woods.

But wait, why are we here in the woods? Is it just to wander around and enjoy the beauty of God’s great creation or is there more here than just the visual?

Wait, what is that I see? It’s a mushroom and it is one of the best, a Black Morel.

As we pick our basket full of fresh mushrooms we look and check each one looking for the identifying characteristics that we use to make sure these are Morels.

Morels have differing colors of gray, black, and yellow. They’re most often distinguished by their long caps which look like honeycombs.

Morel mushrooms usually stand between 1 inch (the size that I usually find) and 4 inches tall (what everyone else finds) and are about 1 inch to 2 inches around. When you find them, be sure to pinch off the stem at ground level to keep from harming the mycelium which is what the mushroom grows from.

Many people use a “mushroom knife” (a small hook bladed knife) to harvest…