Indicator Trees for Finding Morel Mushrooms

Morels seem to particularly love the American Elm, White Ash, Tulip Poplar and apple trees.  The American Elm has been greatly eradicated due to Dutch Elm Disease, but morels proliferate near dead Elms.  In mountainous West Coast regions, morels are fond of growing in Douglas Fir forests.

Be careful around Big-Toothed Aspen, Quaking Aspen and Red Pine:  they are ripe habitat for poisonous False morels.

Some mushroom hunters report finding black morels near fruit trees, and even on lawns or in fields!  Some also find them near Pine and Eastern Cottonwood.

Some hunters look for yellow morels near Maple trees.  Some can even find them near Black Ash.  But the yellow morel motherload can usually be found around Elms, particularly dead ones (which shouldn’t be difficult to locate, given extensive Dutch Elm Disease in the U.S.), and old, overgrown apple orchards. 

As a matter of fact, stories abound about old apple orchards, which seem to produce large crops of yellow morels that grow to be huge.  As Mike Courey from Lake City, Michigan says, “My cousin has an old apple orchard on his property, and let me tell you, it is a privilege to hunt it. Some of the morels I have harvested from his orchard were as big as my hand.”

Pamela advises seeking orchards that have been deserted for many years, overgrown with sticker bushes, perhaps surrounding woods and yes, poison ivy--in other words, virtually impassable.  She says the best time to look is when the trees are in bloom, up until the time they drop their petals.  Pamela reports that she has discovered the highest concentrations of morels under trees that are dying or that died last year.  However, she has found 100 small morels under a thriving tree and large patches around stumps where trees were cut down the year before. 

Ah, but the overgrown apple orchard motherload comes with its price!  Pamela has had to push jungles of poison ivy away from her face, and she has been covered head to toe with ticks.  And then there are the snakes.  Pamela says, “And, if you are afraid of snakes, don't go into an old, overgrown orchard. I was stopped dead in my tracks one time by a six-foot black snake, standing, with most of its body off the ground, staring me straight in the eyes! I couldn't even find my breath to scream for my wandering comrades, and I like snakes!”  

Nancy says that even apple-based compost yields morels.  “Before the days when most orchards were sprayed with fungicides the places where apple pomace was dumped often produced morels,” she says.  “If you know someone who makes cider from ‘organic’ apples, or who grows such apples, see if they will give you permission to look for morels around their fruit dump.”   

Nancy says even pear orchards are fertile hosts for morels.  And John recommends old cherry and peach orchards. 

Carl, the Mushroom King, likewise echoes good experiences with apple orchards--and even grape arbors!  He used to frequent some that were overtaken by state land, and he had a really good spot until “the DNR idiots jerked ‘em out!”  The DNR also clearcut another area where he loved to hunt morels.  “You couldn’t step without steppin’ on ‘em,” he says, “But I don’t think I’ve found 10 since then.”  But Carl still has plenty of morel hot spots.  “Ash trees is where most of ‘em are,” he says.  He also reports that Elm trees are good morel hosts, both alive and dead.    

Elms, especially dead ones, are Jason Edge’s secret.  He’s from southwestern Wisconsin, and he has won at least five first-place trophies in morel hunting contests.  He finds Elm trees, especially dead ones.  He wrote a short book titled Find the Tree, Find the Morel and has a web site, www.morelmasters.com.

Many seasoned morel hunters believe that an Elm needs to be dead for a full year before it will host morels, with all or part of its bark missing.  But that’s not what Jason has discovered.  He recalls (in Find the Tree, Find the Morel, pg. 8-9), “I spotted a half dozen or so morels right in front of me. . .I got down to pick them, glanced up, and there were more just beyond the first ones I saw.  All excited, I glanced way out ahead and saw nothing but morel tops all the way to a tree with all the bark on it.  I couldn’t believe it!  I picked on my hands and knees for over an hour.  This was a first-year producing elm tree that hadn’t been dead for over a year.”

Jason has noted that an Elm needs to be completely dead for eight months to host morels the following spring. Jason has found that about six of every 10 dead Elms will produce morels, and that if a dead Elm doesn’t produce morels the first spring after it’s been dead at least eight months, it never will.  He says that a dead Elm will produce the most morels in its first year, then half as many the second year, then half again the third year, and so on.  He has noticed that a dead Elm in its fourth or fifth season will produce very few, if any, morels.”

Now forget everything you just read.

As Michael Kuo says, “Don't pin all your hopes on a certain kind of tree, however! Morels can be found under just about any tree, given the right conditions.”

There’s a reason mushroom hunters call it the “elusive morel!”  Sometimes mushrooms don’t grow back in the same spot the next year.  They don’t always follow all the patterns that mushroom hunters have noticed.  They’ve had mycologists scratching their heads for years.     

The most important thing about mushroom hunting is to trust your intuition.  Don’t get too rational.  Don’t try to memorize rules.  Don’t try to categorize what you notice. Just think like a mushroom: warm and moist--but not soggy.

Trying to categorize every little detail about morels is like trying to fish with every expensive gadget imaginable--when all you have to do is think like a fish.  Where would you be hanging out, and what would you like to eat?   It’s like trying to catch a dog by running after it.  Morel hunting is best done in a receptive state of mind--not dominant.  After all, the most successful scientists learn about animal behavior by immersing themselves in the animals’ environment--not by locking them in a cage. It’s not about control, it’s about discovery.  Take your time, look closely.     

Be one with the mushroom!