Spring Mushroom Foraging & Burn Morel Update! Burn Morels are looking Prime West of the Cascades

Join me on another Spring Mushroom Foraging Walk, as we hike the forest trails of the Pacific Northwest in search of wild mushrooms. It's April, and that means Morels! In this special episode, we'll also visit the site of a recent Wildfire and update you on the current search for Burn Morels!
Whether you're right here in Western Washington State, or outside of WA in other parts of the PNW, like Oregon, Northern California, or British Columbia, there's a good chance that you'll be seeing lots of similar mushrooms fruiting in the forest near you. Similarly, even if you're mushroom hunting overseas, I'm always amazed at just how much overlap there typically is. There is something in here for everyone! So whether you're a seasoned mycologist looking to get your fungi fix, or a beginning mushroom hunter just starting down the path of mycology or trying out an interest in mushrooms, thanks for tuning in!
Here's a rundown of some of what you can expect to see in this episode:
00:00 Intro
01:14 Panther Cap (Amanita pantherinoides) - the Western US version of Amanita pantherina
08:05 Petticoat Mottlegill (Panaeolus papilonaceus)
09:28 The Deceiver (Laccaria laccata)
11:27 Deer Mushroom (Pluteus cervinus)
14:26 Stashed Panther Cap
15:56 Spring Fieldcap (Agrocybe praecox)
19:37 Mica Cap (Coprinellus micaceous)
22:37 Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus Genus)
25:37 Spring Orange Peel Fungus (Caloscypha fulgens)
26:43 Morel Story & Conversation About Search Images
28:38 Alpine Jelly Cone (Guepiniopsis alpina)
29:55 Bonnets
30:56 Bleeding Heart
31:06 Sweet Cicely
34:27 Coyote
34:43 Burn Morels
35:50 False Morel (Gyromitra esculenta)
39:30 Burn Morel Update
Hope you enjoyed this week's episode!
Remember to subscribe to get all the latest mushroom hunting updates!
Until next time - Happy Trails!

[@Schwammerlfee]

Thx for also covering plants, Sweet Cicely is a great plant !

[@MushroomTrail]

My pleasure! Glad you're liking the plants too - so much out there to get excited about! Curious to know - what is your favorite way to use Sweet Cicely?

[@Schwammerlfee]

@@MushroomTrail I love it combined with dill, chives and soy sauce as a foundation or sauce for sautéed shiitake mushrooms, or also as a herb for fish like gilthead. Very tasty. Here mostly used for sweet dishes or cakes though, but not so much my taste. :)

[@MushroomTrail]

Yum! I'm getting hungry just thinking about that sautéed shitake dish!!!

[@Schwammerlfee]

@@MushroomTrail And it is sooo tasty!🤤

[@Beyondfungi]

Always love coming along to explore fungi with you . 👍👍🍄🍄💚💚🍀🍀✌️✌️😃😃☀️☀️🌲🌲🤔🤔

[@MushroomTrail]

Awesome! Thanks so much for joining me out there - appreciate you tuning in!

[@dcfromthev]

Hell yeah plants too 🌱 👍🏻 nice work dude

[@MushroomTrail]

Much appreciated! Glad you're liking the plants too!

[@user-pw2ze5xl4p]

Thanks for another great mushroom video and information. 🍄🌿❤

[@MushroomTrail]

My absolute please! Thanks for the positive feedback - can't wait to get the next video out your way! 🍄

[@cynthiaconner4930]

I loved the footage of the coyote in there! Great video.

[@MushroomTrail]

Thanks 👍

[@jamesedwardson605]

Keep up the good work brother...

[@MushroomTrail]

Thanks! Will do! Appreciate you tuning in!

[@Schwammerlfee]

Excited about another video ❤ The Burn Morels are so pretty! I suppose we don’t have them in Europe, but don’t know for sure. So nice of you to leave some behind so they will be able to fruit and spread it’s spores. Where I live I find morels usually in huge flood-plain forests or at meadows with fruit trees - some parts are harvested without regarding morels don’t have a „safety net“ like mycorrhiza mushrooms. I wouldn’t eat any mushrooms containing Gyromitrin either, not really worth it. 😊 But the False Morel is very nice to look at 👍

[@MushroomTrail]

Thanks! I love hearing about what you're seeing out your way.! Our local flood plain morels tend to fruit in association with Cottonwoods. And interesting to hear about the fruit tree associations - our American Blond (Morchella americanus) commonly fruits in orchards, but this has caused some problems in old apple orchards that were once sprayed with lead arsenate pesticides (even though these toxic pesticides aren't used anymore, they were used liberally for decades, and that bioaccumulates in the morels) Always appreciate you tuning in!

[@Schwammerlfee]

@@MushroomTrail Yes, it’s typically apple trees (sometimes sherry trees) here too and usually the Morchella esculenta fruiting there (rarely the black morel), but it’s much more common fruiting around Ash Trees or different types of Poplar Trees in Flood Plains.

[@MushroomTrail]

Very interesting! It's a shame to have to pass on those orchard morel opportunities ... but I'm sure those opportunities around the Ash & Poplar trees make up for it! Good luck out there this year - hope you find a bunch!

[@Schwammerlfee]

@@MushroomTrail Yes, I found plenty already, the morel season started really early this year and seems to be over soon. Let’s see.

[@lotus.b.lazuli2020]

Amazing footage and info. Mycena gills get me every time, love those tiny guys. Never found a morel though either! We don't get big forest fires here, mainly controlled gorse burns in open areas. Our forests are so small in England, if like three trees burned in a row it would probably make the news.

[@MushroomTrail]

Thanks! You and me both - those Mycena are so easy to overlook or pass by, but whenever I slow down to observe, always glad I did! In recent years, our "fire season" is getting to be a little intense in these parts - last year was an exception. It was nice being able to breathe outside last August 😂 Always appreciate you tuning in - Happy Trails!

[@lotus.b.lazuli2020]

@@MushroomTrail One of my favourites to photograph is Mycena haemotopus, and Mycena inclinata, as those are kinda dusky pale pink underneath too. My goodness, tell me about it, I was almost holding my breath watching the GWIS map last year. The fires globally were insane, and still are! Hopefully you'll get enough rain to keep the fungi blues at bay. : )

[@MushroomTrail]

Cool! Those are beautiful little mushrooms! Crazy how Mycena haematopus bleeds when broken. Such fascinating little beings!

[@lotus.b.lazuli2020]

@@MushroomTrail I know right! They dry so pale too. I just checked, and if you scroll slightly on the FUNGI 2022 page of my site, you'll see a dozen or so pictures of a patch I found that almost look like bleeding bruised peaches?!

[@MushroomTrail]

Whoa! Those are incredible shots - very cool!

[@taylorwolf3415]

I found a log of false morels this season too, so cool. I’d never seen that before. W Oregon

[@MushroomTrail]

Very cool! I was so surprised to see them lined up like that. Did you find yours in a burn area as well? Or was it typical PNW forest area?

[@taylorwolf3415]

Typical forest on a downed Doug fir. They were having a log party

[@MushroomTrail]

Nice! Super interesting to see!

[@katyhiatt3608]

I love looking for mushrooms

[@MushroomTrail]

Me too! Have fun out there - and Happy Trails!🍄

[@paulagarrett3758]

I’ve eaten landscape morels that we had come up because of bark mulch, but I’m hoping to find my first morels out into the woods soon!

[@MushroomTrail]

Nice! Those landscape morels are so interesting - they can really surprise you with where they decide to come up. Our natural forest morels can be a little tougher to come by than in other places... but don't forget to check those Black Cottonwood trees if you're local here in the PNW!

[@paulagarrett3758]

@@MushroomTrail Great tip! Yes, here in the PNW as well. It’s hard to know if where the Cottonwood trees grow is a place that is ok to pick. I have the National Forest permit, but that doesn’t include private or other lands. How does one find out where to pick locally? 🌲🍄‍🟫🏔️

[@MushroomTrail]

The National Forests tend to be great spots to pick! Additionally, a lot of state parks allow picking as do a lot of BLM, DNR, and even some private timber lands. Several years back the Puget Sound Mycological Society put out a really great little article and Excel spread sheet with the various rules/limits/restrictions etc. I'll see if I can dig that up and will loop back if I do!

[@paulagarrett3758]

@@MushroomTrail Thank you! I really appreciate that! I did a little digging yesterday as well, and for those that read comments, the Forestry department and the Bureau of Land Management were helpful offices and have printable (free) and purchasable maps. One place told me there is a mapping app called Avenza. It’s a start! 😃🍄‍🟫

[@MushroomTrail]

That's great info! 👍 I did do a quick search of the PSMS resource I was thinking of too, and if you google: "Puget Sound Mycological Society WA State Personal Use Mushroom Harvesting Rules" you may find that info interesting. It's perhaps a little dated (2016) but there is a pdf at the bottom of the page that may give you a few additional ideas and contact info to get specific updated details.

[@kaitlynshorett8049]

Great content! What elevation were you finding the morels at? Checked a burn the other weekend and no luck.

[@MushroomTrail]

I was just under 1000' at this burn ... so the morels will likely hit here before higher elevations (unless those higher slopes have serious sun exposure. Curious, what elevation was the burn you were checking?

[@kaitlynshorett8049]

Same! Just under 1,000’. Went out on the 13th, didn’t see anything but fiddle heads and cup fungi. 😭

[@MushroomTrail]

Interesting! Sorry to hear! I also observed lots of those little fiddle heads poking out. I suspect that there may have been some tiny morels hiding out in your burn ... but we're still a little early. Should be interesting to see what the rain in the forecast does for those burns. Could be nice if we get some moisture and then a blast of sunshine with slightly higher lows 🤞

[@kaitlynshorett8049]

I agree! We are still a bit early. Hoping to check it out again in a couple weeks. 🤞🏼

[@whoe_whate8487]

Hey! I live in the area and have recently caught morel fever. I'm new to foraging, and I have a question: How do you find all these burn sites? All the ones I've driven out to have been gated off and are on private property. I can't find a public, burned area for the life of me, especially not any within 30 minutes of me. Thanks!

[@MushroomTrail]

Ideally, keeping an eye on burn news during summer months is often best, because you can catch a lot of those "small burn" details that could payoff. But also USFS is a great resource and there are lots of online resources/forums that routinely post solid info. That said, might be really tough to find one within 30 minutes. Where are you located?

[@whoe_whate8487]

@@MushroomTrail Thanks! I'm in East Port Orchard. I could definitely drive more than 30 minutes, It just depends how much time I have after work.

[@MushroomTrail]

Nice! I haven't checked out on the peninsula this year, but if I get a chance I'll see if I can find anything. I think that people have been finding some out there in small local burns ... think I heard murmurs about the Hood Canal, but will have to dig deeper as time allows. I'll let you know if I hear anything!

[@fullbloodedamerican1366]

"McEwan fire" 10mins northeast of shelton. Will be more then a 30min drive for you, but land is owned by a timer company & one section by some llc company. Any way.. they been fine with people picking there. As of yesterday, it's been productive for about 4weeks now. It a 40 acer burn. Lots of small morels. People have been hitting in a bit hard but weather is steady enough for them to cycle through the nature morels then the burn morels. Once steady temps are in the 70's the morels blow out & stop growing. Good luck 👍

[@MushroomTrail]

@@fullbloodedamerican1366 Awesome information - thanks so much for sharing! Super helpful to viewers living out that way, and greatly appreciated!