With the season of spring finally arriving in Richland County, the season of mushrooming is also in full swing.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Ohio has more than 2,000 kinds of wild mushrooms that start to emerge during April and May, some of which are poisonous and some of which are edible. The most common edible mushroom sought in Ohio is the morel, or sponge, mushroom.
Richard Doyle, a member of the Ohio Mushroom Society since 1973, said morel mushrooms have a shorter season in that they typically only show themselves during the months of April and May.
“If they don’t come out during that period they usually won’t come out,” he said. “They’re pretty much restricted to those two months, maybe a little earlier or later depending on the weather, temperature or amount of rainfall.”
The ODNR states wild mushrooms typically grow under the cover of leaves, dead wood and other forest debris, quickly emerging after a moderate or heavy rain. Abandoned orchards are areas with ash or elm trees are often the most productive areas for mushroom seekers. Doyle added many mushroom hunters claim to find morels around dead or dying elm trees, tulip poplar trees and cherry trees.
The sponge-like texture of the morel mushroom is its most distinctive quality, said Doyle.
“They look like sponges and they are cone-shaped and various shades of yellow, brown and black,” he said. “Your best bet is to go to Google images and type in ‘morel mushrooms’ and you’ll get thousands of pictures.”
The true morel is easily recognized, however the poisonous false morels can be confused with a true morel, according to the ODNR. True morels have caps with definite pits and ridges, like a honeycomb. False morels may have lobes, folds, flaps or wrinkles. The true morel is built like a light bulb and the stem is hollow when viewed in a cross section.
Mushroom hunting is permitted at all state forests in Ohio, with visitors allowed to pick and remove mushrooms from state forest land at their own risk. However, hunters should still look for a notice posted in the area indicating specific rules and restrictions that may apply to individual parks. Doyle noted all parks have different regulations when it comes to mushrooming.
“There are a lot of wooded areas where you’re not allowed to collect mushrooms,” he said. “Typically in a park you’re not allowed to pick wildflowers, and (park officials) sometimes apply that to mushrooms too. However, picking mushrooms is a little different; if you pick a wildflower plant you’ve destroyed the plant. If you pick a mushroom you’re just picking the fruit off the fungus, the fungus is still in the ground and will produce mushrooms in the future.”
The ODNR offers a number of tips for collecting wild mushrooms, including:
• Go with an experienced mushroom hunter on your first outing
• Make sure you correctly identify the type of mushroom before you eat it
• Do not eat raw mushrooms
• Eat only mushrooms in good condition
• Do not eat large amounts of mushrooms; rather, sample a small amount the first time
• Before you go mushroom hunting, get a good field guide detailing the various types
After collecting morel mushrooms, Doyle recommends researching various recipes for stuffed morels and dishes of that nature. Personally, he prefers a simpler recipe.
“The best way to eat morels as far as I’m concerned is to sauté them in butter,” he said.
For Doyle, mushroom hunting is enjoyable for the time he gets to spend in the woods connecting with nature as well as the reward of finding the mushrooms he sets out for.
“It’s like a treasure hunt; you enjoy the hunt as much as you enjoy eating them,” he said.
The next morel mushroom hunt hosted by the ODNR for those wishing to hunt for their own morels will be held at Cowan Lake State Park starting at 10 a.m. on April 27. Mushroom hunters will learn how to identify true morels from false morels and get tips on locating morels along with mushroom hunting etiquette. Participants can join the park naturalist on a guided hike or spend time searching on their own before meeting back up at 11:30 a.m. for show-and-tell and a lesson on delicious recipes and cooking techniques. Hunters are asked to bring a hiking stick and an onion bag, essential for redistributing mushroom spores in the woods.
“It’s like a treasure hunt: You enjoy the hunt as much as you enjoy eating them,” said Richard Doyle.
