Morel Hunting by John Maybrier

Author:John Maybrier
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8117-0834-0
Publisher: Stackpole Books

The fan shape of an elm tree.

Once we shared a spot with a close friend, who broke the cardinal rule and told a friend of hers. The third party hunted our spot and came across a very old, very large elm tree that was dying. They found so many morels and, feeling guilty, called our friend to join in the hunt. They couldn’t pick all of them before it got dark, so our friend, also feeling guilty, called and told us to pick them. The next morning we went to find the tree. It was a classic scenario. In three days we picked well over four hundred morels under the limbs of that very old elm. The next year we found around fifty morels. We no longer hunt that area because too many people have heard about it, but the last time I checked the tree, all the big limbs had broken off and the trunk was all but fallen over. Classic! As described, a tree will have a large fruiting of morels the first year that it is dying, followed by a year with half as many morels, and even fewer, if any, the third year. If you share a spot, your friend will tell someone, that person will tell someone, and before you know it, too many people know.

White Bark Trees

Birch, Poplar, and Aspen Trees

Birch, poplar, and aspen trees have a great deal in common, including their relationships with morels. Poplar trees are more common in northern states, whereas birch trees can be found throughout the United States. Aspen trees are more common in the western states and at high elevations. They all have shallow root systems and grow in the hills as well as damp areas and along the water’s edge. Their bark is white, gray, or peach colored and often peels away from the trunk horizontally. They all have small, round leaves that flicker in the least breeze. It’s helpful to check out all the different types in a tree identification book. Northern gray poplars look like they have bands with eyeballs running around the trunks. River birch have peach-colored bark and are common along rivers into the central states, whereas paper birch bark is bright white with horizontal banding tipped in black. It often grows in large stands in the northern states and Canada. Look near aspen trees for morels in mountain regions.

We have occasionally had the privilege to hunt some private land in northern Missouri, twice in the prime season. Beautiful river birch trees grow along the creek that runs through the middle of the property. The pale coral-colored bark stands out against the green and blue background. These trees deposit a lot of organic material—bark, leaves, and sticks—that needs to decompose. We have found some of the most exquisite gray morels under and near these trees, even when some of them do not appear to be dying. It’s possible that flooding or all the debris may encourage the morels to fruit.

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