sgt.porter
Marksman
As our friends in the south are just getting into morel season, and the rest of us are drooling in anticipation, I figure this is a good time to introduce new shroomers to the false morel:
The false morel is identified by it's bright white stem and red - burgundy waxy looking head. The unmistakable warped and twisted look of this mushroom gives it the appearance of something you would think to find growing close to a nuclear reactor.
Honestly, I don't see how, but some people have been known to mistake this mushroom for a morel (hence the name false morel). If ever in doubt, slice the mushroom lengthwise. Morels have a hollow stem, false morel stems are tightly packed with warped and twisted cells.
The false morel should not be considered a food source. While some people can successfully eat them, others experience a poisonous effect.
Prolonged contact with this mushroom, ingesting this mushroom, even inhaling the fumes from cooking this mushroom has been known to cause diarrhea, headaches, vomiting, nausea, extreme dizziness, and even death.
I purposefully have prepared and eaten a small portion of false morels. Although none of the effects were severe, I will never do so again. If your will to survive drives you to to find out if you can eat this mushroom, you do so on your own accord. I will not provide you with any help.
IF YOU SPOT A FALSE MOREL, LEAVE IT BE AND MOVE ON!!!!
IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF A MUSHROOM YOU HAVE ALREADY COLLECTED, THROW IT OUT IMMEDIATELY!
The false morel is identified by it's bright white stem and red - burgundy waxy looking head. The unmistakable warped and twisted look of this mushroom gives it the appearance of something you would think to find growing close to a nuclear reactor.
Honestly, I don't see how, but some people have been known to mistake this mushroom for a morel (hence the name false morel). If ever in doubt, slice the mushroom lengthwise. Morels have a hollow stem, false morel stems are tightly packed with warped and twisted cells.
The false morel should not be considered a food source. While some people can successfully eat them, others experience a poisonous effect.
Prolonged contact with this mushroom, ingesting this mushroom, even inhaling the fumes from cooking this mushroom has been known to cause diarrhea, headaches, vomiting, nausea, extreme dizziness, and even death.
I purposefully have prepared and eaten a small portion of false morels. Although none of the effects were severe, I will never do so again. If your will to survive drives you to to find out if you can eat this mushroom, you do so on your own accord. I will not provide you with any help.
IF YOU SPOT A FALSE MOREL, LEAVE IT BE AND MOVE ON!!!!
IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF A MUSHROOM YOU HAVE ALREADY COLLECTED, THROW IT OUT IMMEDIATELY!