Morel Hunting

Carrying a willow basket through the woods, she reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood, or of a babushka. Her habit is to walk with her hands clasped behind her back, pausing often to scan the forest floor. She’s mostly an autodidact in the ways of fungi. I never feel unsafe eating the mushrooms she has given the thumbs-up to. Donna is the type of person who doesn’t pretend to knowledge she doesn’t have, which means that when she says something is edible, it is.

Last Friday, she took me to a place in the mountains where morels have abounded in previous years, but the signs indicated we were too early, even though this is late spring. I’m always disappointed when I don’t find mushrooms on a hunt, but she took the opportunity to educate me about finding morels in northern Colorado.

Here, they like to grow in aspen groves among the blooms of golden banner. The plant’s height (16-32” stems) and the way it grows in large clumps will help with identification, along with the bold yellow color of the flowers. If you’ve grown peas in your garden, you’ll probably recognize the shape of the flowers, because this plant is also in the pea family. Many other factors influence morel growth and can guide you to areas where they grow, but now I know these two natural indicators, both easy to see and easy to remember.