The Complexity of Rare Morel Mushrooms
Scarce Morel Mushrooms are Delicious, But Hard to Find
The rare morel mushrooms can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Source: Gabi DeGennaro
In comics and on television, cartoon blue Smurfs live in a beautiful village made up of large, umbrella-shaped mushrooms. These Smurfs make great use out of the red-roofed mushrooms that keep them warm and safe. Though the mushrooms serve a good purpose for these little creatures, they don’t have the same value as other mushrooms, like the morel mushroom — a honeycomb mien with a nutty flavor.
The morel mushroom is not like an average mushroom, which can be commonly found in gardens or on hiking trails. Morel mushrooms are little fungi that sprout around the base of deceased trees in late spring. In only ten days, these unique mushrooms can grow up to anywhere from two to twelve inches in size, once they are in a perfectly moist and slightly cool environment. These seemingly needy mushrooms require soil temperatures between 45 and 50 degrees, and air temperature at around 60 degrees. Their scarcity is of great concern, and is what differentiates morel mushrooms from other wild mushrooms like the oyster, portobello and cremini.
With an exotic look and delicious taste, these mushrooms have a big reputation and are quite popular in the environmental and culinary world. Morels are extremely scarce, and can often cost over $40 per pound when fresh. Terrapin, a farm-to-table restaurant in Rhinebeck, offers a spring pasta dish and a soup with morel mushrooms. Foraging behavior is quite popular because of their difficulty to farm. Their little brain-like heads can pop up from the soil in woodsy regions throughout the U.S.
Morel mushrooms are scare, but can be found in the springtime—if you know where to look for them. Source: Gabi DeGennaro
A mysterious complexity resides in the knowledge of the morel mushrooms that scientists need to study further. Their precise environment is difficult to replicate in the lab and investigate, because of the beautiful and healthy symbiotic relationship with oak, elm, and ash trees.
“It's very difficult to study fungi in [in the field]," Timothy Y. James said, Curator of Fungi and assistant professor at the University of Michigan, in an MLive story. "A lot of work is done by bringing fungi into the lab and studying them. We take mushrooms out of the field and forest, then study how they interact in a petri dish."
Fungi in general have a fascinating and ambiguous relationship with their environment, which makes them an interesting plant to research. James has spent 18 years studying fungal genetics and is ultimately captivated by their nature, and where all their growth and history come from under the ground. "It's all happening hidden from our view, everything they do,” he said. "That's why I love it.”
These spring fungi have an annual life cycle that happens underground and eventually showcases its distinct body when mature. Currently, there are 20 reported morel species in the Northern Hemisphere including the yellow morel, morchella elata and the verpa bohemica. They have honeycomb irregular looks but differ in characteristics such as stem length, fruiting body width and coloring.
Logging, flooding and soil disturbance can negatively affect the growth and presence of the mushroom. Not only are there natural negative impacts to these little guys but pesticides like insect spray also inhibit morel fruiting. During hunting season, on top of their difficulty to find, human predation can potentially decrease their population abundance.
Just like any other edible or nonedible mushroom, morels are great decomposers that absorb radiation from contaminated water, filter out nitrates, can be used for biodiesel and even provide immune-boosting benefits.