Would I bet my liver on it? My life? This was growing in the woodchips pathway in my veggie garden, peeking out from under a cement block. Quite unexpected. When I was about 10 years old, my family hunted them May. Those had a lot more golden brown color. They were my favorite food then. That was in the Midwest, hill country not far from the Mississippi river. Far, far away. But, that was then. I feel about 99% certain, but is that 1% worth the risk? I decided no.
You are a lucky so-n-so. That pic could make some folks drool. ….but I can understand your hesitancy. To err on the side of caution is not a bad thing. I have heard on various forager docu’s that one ought not to eat mushrooms if you are not experienced or are with an experienced person so that you are the full 100% sure of what you have. Your specimen is beautiful.
Beatiful Morel! They are very distinct. The fakers show themselves if you look at their distinguishing diferences. You have to do what makes you comfortable. I still have a few dried oyster mushrooms in the cupboard that my son-in-law found and gave me. They were new to me - and he was hurt that I didn't fry them up right away. So I said I'd "save them for later" ( last year....) Just a note - Morel's should always be cooked. Not eaten raw. I always wash my hands after picking Morels ( overkill, but makes me feel better). That is a beauty Daniel.
Yummy I have had them popping up around where I have transplanted plants from the other property that contained them. Considering the price of these delicious fungi it doesn’t hurt to find someone who knows to reassure you. I am not harvesting this year because I want them to multiply. I am seeing huge changes for the positive in soil structure and health where I’ve incorporated perennial transplants with large clumps of healthy soil and where I find morels. I have even tried adding ground dried morels to some bio char. Not sure if that will change anything or not. To me finding morels and other fungi is just another proof of the massive amount of life that is in our soil.
