Spore Print 2005 No
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Spore Print 2005 No. 1 Quarterly Newsletter of the Edmonton Mycological Society A Confirmation of Spring – the Delicious Morel Mushroom by Loretta Puckrin (Morchellaceae - Morchella ) large groups. An area might be Whether you call them ‘morels’ covered in morels but you will still (Canada), morille (France), have several steps between speisemorchel (Germany), spugnoal pickings unlike many other edibles bruna (Italy), or colmenilla (Spain) grow in clumps. In spite of this you are talking about the early spread-out nature, morels are one edible mushroom that starts the of the few mushrooms that are wild mushroom picking season. picked commercially. Wind is very Being a very distinctive mushroom, important in the spreading of the morels are picked very freely morel spores, so if you find a group by many people who would of morels check downwind of your normally stay away from wild current location and you will likely mushrooms. It doesn’t hurt that find more. the morel family (Morchella to give Morels tend to appear early in them their proper name) tastes the spring, although they do have a very good. longer growing season. With the Morels grow in old-growth forest floors being covered in brown A morel mushroom with its distinctive cap which is forest, abandoned orchards, dead leaves, the morel can be attached to the stem or stipe. Notice the vertical banding gardens, along roads and on sandy difficult to find. A general rule of and the ridges that are darker than the recessed parts. stream banks. They are also known thumb is to look for morels when common morel (Morchella as a mushroom that loves to grow the crocus flower is beginning to esculenta) is normally found at after a fire. There is an old saying bloom. Remember this is just a lower elevations especially after an about morels – ‘they grow anywhere hint – mushrooms have their own unusually cold winter. They are by not everywhere’. Even though timetables! Another indicator is the associated with elm, ash, oak and they have many areas in which to opening of saskatoon blossoms. beech-maple trees. The burnsite germinate, the morel can be a very You may have heard about a morel (Morchella atromentosa) is shy mushroom. When they often number of different morels prolific a year or two after a forest fruit (it is the ‘fruit’ of the fungi mushrooms as the word “morel” fire, especially in areas that host that you pick) they often come up describes a family of fungi rather pines and poplar trees. The black in ones and twos rather than in than a specific mushroom. The continued on page 3 FEATURE MUSHROOM PRESIDENT’S PAST EVENTS COMING EVENTS ARTICLES Pick a Wild The Mighty Morel MESSAGE.... Poplar Creek The First Annual Welcome to Mushroom Alberta...pg 8 ...pg 1 Welcome to the Natural Area Gets Photo Contest another Winter Visit..pg 4 ...pg 6 Season...pg 6 Urban ‘shrooming The earliest morel New Executive The winter foray at FORAYS mushroom is the ...pg 9 ...pg 2 Poplar Park was a Come find the Verpa which is Contact information success both in terms currently in ‘bloom’. of fun and in finding Mushrooms Mushrooming on the new executive Courses...pg 11 and some background mushrooms. ...pg 4,5 Recipes information on plans The next two major Stuffed Morels and Mushroom for the current year. forays are for the Cream of Morel Events Calendar Environments ...pg ...pg 10, 11 morel mushrooms and 12 Soup...pg 8 the oyster mushrooms Fleming (Membership Director), Markus President’s Message Gail Daniluk (Communications), 2005 Executive Geraldine Kolacz (Newsletter Edmonton Mycological Society Director), Loretta Puckrin (Treasurer), and Melanie Fjoser President: Markus Thormann (Secretary). In addition, Pieter van (780) 432-1392 der Schoot and Robert Rogers are [email protected] our two Directors-at-Large. Last- Past President: Peter Arabchuk but-not-least, a special thank-you (780) 479-6630 goes out to Peter Arabchuk, our [email protected] Past President, who has done a great job presiding over the EMS 1st Vice President: Mike Schulz over the past years. We will all (780) 930-2102 strive to make this year as [email protected] enjoyable and educational as Website Manager: George Hamilton previous years. (780) 486-2576 One of the objectives of the EMS [email protected] is, and always has been, to educate Treasurer: Loretta Puckrin its members about fungi, including (780) 458-9889 their identification, distribution, [email protected] ecology, and significance. This objective will continue to be central Secretary: Melanie Fjoser to all of our activities and permeate (780) 987-4412 our monthly meetings and forays. [email protected] The “Pick a Wild Mushroom, Foray Coordinator: Bill Richards Alberta!” campaign is not (780) 998-3507 exclusive of this objective. It is [email protected] currently our flagship project and Current President of EMS, Markus Thormann, in the field will receive continuing support by Program Director: Martin Osis wearing his special mushroom hunting outfit the EMS. Other projects in the (780) 987-4412 foreseeable future include the [email protected] development of a provincial fungal Newsletter Editor: Geri Kolacz Greetings! database, a digital image library, (780) 475-7927 By the time you are receiving easy-to-use identification keys for [email protected] this newsletter, we have already diverse groups of fungi, and a Communications: Gail Daniluk had our first meeting of the new NAMA foray in the southern boreal (780) 986-4493 year. Based on the amount of and/or foothills forests. These [email protected] moisture we have received over the projects will greatly enhance our winter months and the favourable visibility in the community and Membership: Alan Fleming weather this spring so far, we can across the province and western (780) 463-8540 anticipate an excellent year for Canada. Last year was a very [email protected] successful year, let’s continue on fungi. Directors at Large Since early this year, the that path! previous EMS executive has met With that in mind, let’s look Pieter Van de Schoot several times to lay the foundation forward to our spring foray, which (780) 696-2436 for this year, culminating in the will take us into the southern Robert Rogers election of a new executive in late boreal forest to the northwest of (780) 433-7882 March. I am honoured to be the Edmonton on May 14. We can new president of the EMS. I expect to see (true and false) welcome the return of Bill Richards morels, verpas, and diverse spring MAILING ADDRESS: (Foray Coordinator), Martin Osis agarics. Hope to see you all there. Edmonton Mycological Society (Program Director), and Mike 1921 – 10405 Jasper Avenue Schulz (Vice-President) as well as Standard Life Building our new executive members Alan Cheers and happy ‘shrooming, Edmonton AB T5J 3S2 2 Spore Print Spring - 2005 No. 1 www.wildmushrooms.ws Test your ‘mushroom eyes’. This photo is full of morels. Can you spot them? Morel Mushrooms continued from page 1 One mushroom that is morel (Morchella elata) occurs on often miscalled a morel, is almost every continent in higher the close cousin the Verpa alpine-like meadows well into the digitaliformis and Verpa summer under conifer and aspen bohemica. One common trees. The head looks almost identical name is the thimble to a fallen pine cone and is very mushroom because the cap difficult for the novice to spot. The resembles a thimble sitting white morel (Morchella deliciosa) is on top of the stalk (stipe). probably the most tasty member of Both the morel and the the morel family. This variety likes verpa are of the family growing under old fruit trees Helvellaceae. Where the especially in the Pacific Northwest. morel’s cap is continuous The half-free morel (Morchella down to the stem the verpa simlibera) is often found in sandy cap is separated with the soil along streams and lakes. stem freely passing up into the cone of the cap. All morel mushrooms are hollow both in the stem You don’t have to wait until you get home to treat yourself to these delicious mushrooms. They are great stuffed or just seasoned and fried. (stalk, stipe) and the mushroom cap itself. The cap and stipe make stuffing very stem of the verpa is more solid. easy with delicious results. If you Although these mushrooms are are interested in learning more not prone to worms, the texture of about the morel mushrooms make the cap (wrinkled in appearance) sure you join the foray on May allows for insects to hide in the 14th in the Wabumum area. If you folds. A quick wash with cold want more ideas on cooking your water tends to relieve you of these wild mushroom harvest make sure unwanted passengers. Cutting the to keep an eye on the website for morel in half also helps to find if our first mushroom cooking class there are insects in the hollow (expected to be held in August). centre. The favoured way of storing morels is to dry them but You can also check out some they freeze as well. However you morel recipes on page 8. prepare them ensure that the There are a number of varieties of Morel mushrooms which all morels are cooked before eating. belong to the ‘morchella’ family of fungi. What many consider Morels can be added to sauces, Photos for this article were taken the ‘true morel’ are those where the cap is attached to the be the base for gravies or soup and and supplied by Bill Richards from stem along the entire bottom edge.