The first spring ones they begin to appear in forests and gardens. This is good news for mushroom pickerswho can’t wait to take the basket in their hands and go on a long walk in search of the most valuable treasures.
No one is surprised that the list of the most desirable specimens includes morels, the season for which lasts from March to May. However, you need to be extremely careful when picking these particular mushrooms. Unfortunately, it is easy to confuse them with the poisonous chestnut butterfly.
Morels are one of the most valuable spring mushrooms. However, harvesting them is difficult because In Poland, wild morels are partially protected species, which means that they cannot be collected in natural forest locations. Threaten to mandate.
However, nothing stops you from collecting morels in the garden, on a private plot or in a forest nursery. You can also go to get them, for example, to Slovakia, the Czech Republic or Austria, where the regulations are less restrictive (although they are still in force, so it is worth familiarizing yourself with the local law).
Morels are difficult mushrooms to get, so you should hurry. They most often appear in areas with deciduous or mixed trees, on fertile soils rich in organic matter.
They also often grow in riverside areas, in old orchards and on the edges of bushes, but they can also appear near composters or on wood chips. Rainfall and warming above 10 degrees Celsius increase the chance of finding them.
Morels look quite characteristic due to a cap that may be oval or conical and is covered with irregular cavities and honeycomb-like ribs.
These mushrooms are hollow and relatively small. They usually reach 8-10 cm in height, and their fruit bodies are usually 2-4 cm in diameter. The body of the morel is light (usually cream or white), and the color of the cap can range from light beige to almost black.
You need to be careful not to confuse the morel with the dangerous chestnut moth. This poisonous mushroom usually grows in dry, sandy places, on clear cuts and in young pine plantings.
The chestnut morel differs from the morel mainly in its cap, which looks a bit like a brain (it has an irregular structure and its interior is not empty like in a morel). It is important not to make a mistake and not to accidentally bring it home, because it contains gyromithrin, which can cause severe poisoning.
In March in Poland, apart from morels, you can also find other edible species of mushrooms in forests, meadows and gardens. This includes: Austrian cup, which does not have a distinctive taste, but can be a beautiful decoration for dishes.
Oyster mushroom is also common – a fleshy and very aromatic specimen. Additionally, the lilac-eared bat is seenwhich perfectly absorbs the flavors of dishes, especially Asian ones, and these are just some of the forest delicacies.
