What you need to know about morel season in Michigan

(CBS DETROIT) – If you love mushrooms but hate the high price some of those gourmet mushrooms can fetch, you’re in luck. Morel mushrooms are a highly coveted mushroom in Michigan that you can find right in your backyard.

It’s spring and hunting season, but maybe not the hunting season you’d expect. ‘Tis the season for morels.

“All you really need is something to carry them in,” said Tim James, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and curator of fungi at the University of Michigan. ‘I have a basket. I also have paper bags, laundry bags, and you need a knife. And you have to know where to go.”

May is Morel Mushroom Month in Michigan. Although you can find these mushrooms as early as late April or early June, you need to know where to go and what to look for.

“The best trees you want to look under are elms, ash, apple trees and also the tulip poplar,” James said. “You have to look around you; often stand low to the ground, and then one might pop up. And as soon as you see one, you have the search image, look around the area, and then you might find a lot more. They’re generally a bit clustered.”

The DNR publishes a map of burns from across the state to aid in the search for those elusive mushrooms.

“We know that morels like disturbance, and we know that that kind of disturbance, caused by a forest fire or other cutting, can cause them to bear fruit. We also know that morels appear on dead trees. So a dead elm is likely the best place to look for morels,” James said.

The weather also plays a role in hunting.

“Rain is important, and enough rain in the spring will be critical to a successful hunt. And temperatures are important too, of course, and this particular spring was warm. So if it’s a warm spring, you’ll want to gather early. is a cold spring, you want to gather late,” James said.

Of course, you have to be careful not to pick false morels.

“Often they appear earlier than the true morels. They go like false morels, then the semi-free morel, then the black morel, then the yellow morel in terms of their phenology,” says James.

There are two things to look for between a true morel and a false morel.

So why are mushroom hunters so secretive about where they find their precious mushrooms?

“That’s because they generally come back year after year. And so you find a productive spot, and that’s the spot you want to come back to next year,” James said.