The South Marysburgh Mirror EN INVESTMENT — old style Morels—Breakfast of Champignons In early May several people spoke to me about their plans to search out Morel mushrooms. |’ve been on the lookout for these at our place, without success, for several years. I’ve recently learned that | knew less about morels than | thought. Let me explain. June 2024 /15 fully for scattered individuals among dry fallen leaves—check. This refined search pattern resulted in-no morels! | did man- age to collect some rusting metal, old tires, paint cans and bro- ken bottles which had long ago been dumped into our ravine. Well, | haven’t given up but there’s always next year. Botanically-speaking they are not i at all but ra- ther Ascommycetes—a related family. However, just like mushrooms they are the fruiting part of a large subterranean web. (Think of it as an inverted apple tree) . They decompose organic matter and thereby release nutrients back into the soil. Their favoured hosts are the roots of elm, ash, poplar and ap- ple. Their root web sets its fruit in May growing through the layer of last years fallen leaves. While common, grocery store like oyster and portobello can be grown artificially Over twenty years ago our family lived in ife and we had a simple cottage at a nearby lake. Late one summer the surrounding boreal forest caught fire. The jack pine woodland was heavily burned in sawdust and straw, morels only grow wild in old for- ests.....which contributes to their delicacy status. One other thing | learned is and the ground surface scorched to bare earth. We returned in spring to a scene of blackened trunks, a thick car- pet of ash and a sea of morels. Knowing this pattern only too well, wildland firefighters, who know the location on all previ- ous burns, supplement their seasonal income by gathering sacks of morels. Setting aside the enthusiasm of the hunt let me provide some further back- ground. Their shape resembles a miniature Christmas tree with a rutted/pitted texture of brain-like folds. When cooked they add a rich flavour and a meaty texture to a meal. As with many mushrooms these have a poisonous lookalike— ‘brain morels’. So select the Christmas-tree form and not the brain-on-a-stick one. That that the vast underground root-web tends to gather bur- ied toxins in the fruiting (eating) part. So, although you might find them growing in an abandoned apple or- chard there is a risk that the arsenic-based sprays that were historically used on ap- ple trees could remain in the soils and then be concentrat- ed in the fruit. This got me to thinking... maybe along with the glass, rubber, plastic and scrap metal in the ravine there might be some discard- ed waste oil, farm sprays and lead paint in the soil. How lucky was | to not find any morels! If! did | might not be writing today! Rationaliza- tion is a key strategy in the optimists toolbox...to remain optimistic! choice is your basic ‘no-brainer’ and not a truffling matter. Now living in the County, we’ve collected several kinds of edible mushrooms from our woodlot but as of yet, no morels. ’ve been looking for them each spring under the pine trees which is where, with my former experience, | expected them to be. Perplexing - a morel quandary! Having not found any | decided it was time to set aside past experience and do some research. Well, it turns out that morels in south eastern Can- ada behave differently than their northwestern cousins. Armed with new knowledge, | altered my search strate- gy...look in early May after prolonged rain—check—; search around the rotting stumps of decayed hardwoods—check—; explore the edges of stream-side ravines—check; look care- If one morel is a fung-i would several be considered a fung- us? - By Robin Reilly At their Black River Forest Garden, the Reilly’s raise many types of plants and ani- mals within a larger project to restore a diverse meadow and forest landscape.