Conversation

I was out by the brush pile yesterday afternoon stripping the branches from last year's Christmas tree so I can grow some turkey tail on it, and my son found this mushroom growing in the leaf litter. Unfortunately he found it by kicking it.

I consulted my Audubon guide and I'm pretty sure it's a "false morel" (Gyromitra fastigiata AKA G. brunnea, though possibly G. gigas/korfii ). It's described as having "brittle flesh" which explains why it flew to pieces so readily.

They're allegedly tasty, but most/all species in the genus contain varying levels of the toxin gyromitrin AND hydrazine (!!!). This seems to be one of those mushrooms that have been traditionally eaten in Europe for a long time and ALSO is commonly listed in guides as poisonous. So, yeah. I'm going to leave these guys alone. Cool mushroom though. I'll keep them in mind if I ever need to make rocket fuel.

#mushrooms #fungi #falsemorels