WHAT FALSE MORELS CAN TEACH US, Hunting Gyromitra brunnea

A late April trip in the woods hunting for Gyromitra brunnea (the Brown False Morel). The toxicity levels and edibility of Gyromitra species is often heatedly debated on mushroom Facebook Groups and forums. No doubt some species of Gyromitra contain toxic levels of the compound Gyromitrin, but the levels vary significantly between species. In some parts of the world, even species that contain high levels of gyromitrin are commonly consumed after undergoing a special cooking/preparation process. While I make no claim here on their edibility/inedibility, I do find them fascinating and love to hunt for them in the early spring. Gyromitra sp. also prefer the same habitat as true morels, so if you find them, odds are you're in a good morel spot. Gyromitra brunnea are also a good indicator of the progression of the morel season in my area, as they often appear just before the first true morels (M. punctipes and M. americana).
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[@billjensen8976]

Thanks, once again for taking us on your journey and telling us about the false morel that was awesome

[@ScottWConvid19]

Nice. This was that hunt you went on 3 or 4 days ago? Usually when the Fiddleheads are that high here, we're in the peak of gray morel season. We don't have many falsies here; I've only found one in nearly 20 years of looking. Do you get leeks/ramps there? Man, nothing like a morel, fiddlehead & ramp stir fry. Years ago, I started using peemethrin treated BDUs in the woods and I've never gotten a tick while I wear them. They give me good camo and prevent ticks. You can treat any clothing with permethrin, just get the percentage right and soak them until they're fully wet,x let them air dry and then wash em. It works for the life of the garment and that is a huge benefit

[@RenegadeMushrooms]

This was filmed on Sunday. Maybe I'll try that with the permethrin. Ticks seem to get worse every year. One got me last year and I had to go on antibiotics. Yes, we have lots of wild leeks and fiddleheads over here in Western NY. I'm not a huge fan of the fiddleheads myself, but I love leeks.

[@mr.giggles4995]

​@@RenegadeMushrooms what kind of tick bit you? I had never seen a deer tick in MN up until a couple years ago. Now I've had probably 7 crawling on me this spring (and winter!) and have probably pulled a dozen off my dog. The wood tick population has EXPLODED too, I've probably had 50 on me this spring.

[@RenegadeMushrooms]

@@mr.giggles4995 Yeah, they're spreading everywhere unfortunately. We have a lot of both in my area, but it was a wood tick that got me good.

[@tylerkrug7719]

Very interesting, thank you

[@joanfritz126]

Thanks for your info! I found one on 4-9-24. My first and will be back out in a week looking for the half free. I didn't pick it since I didn't know what it was and probably won't pick any

[@RenegadeMushrooms]

That's great you found one! I will be looking this weekend. HAPPY HUNTING!

[@johnnyseko]

Nice. Fiddleheads where I’m at are about the same height. NW New Jersey @1000’msl. Was out twice last week and came out empty handed. After all that rain hoping things start popping with the warmer temps coming. Really hoping to find something local to clone. I’m new to this but it’s been quite the journey so far. Good luck! At least I’ve already had a few wine caps from the garden since mid April.

[@RenegadeMushrooms]

Yeah the morels just started popping this week over here, so they should be up over there. Good luck on your hunts!

[@pyrocircus129]

This video has me missing Spring already lol, usually start finding those and Morel species first part of April where I am in southern IN. Not done to well on oyster or Grifola frondosa this year though

[@RenegadeMushrooms]

Our fall has been terrible in Western NY. All the rain that came up the east coast stayed east and missed us. We haven't had any real rain in more than a month.

[@Gvidas28]

whooa, literrally found one for the first time a few hours after you posted this. keep your great content pumping :)

[@RenegadeMushrooms]

😁 Brought you good luck

[@GeneHrsy]

Why arent Bolete mushrooms commercially propagated?

[@RenegadeMushrooms]

A few of them are actually, there are some bolete farms in China. You don't see much cultivation though because many bolete species are mychorrizal, so they need the symbiotic relationship with a tree to fruit normally. This makes cultivation difficult.