Have Morel Mushrooms Been Found In MA Yet? What You Need To Know

MASSACHSUETTS — It shouldn’t be too long before some of the most delectable of springtime treats — elusive morel mushrooms — are popping out of the ground in Massachusetts.

An early start to spring in many parts of the country means the annual hunt in the woods for morels, among the most desired wild mushrooms worldwide. Although morel hunters are a notoriously secretive group, many have reported the date and general area they found their caches to The Great Morel.

“Early, early, early” is the most common phrase among them, according to the crowdsourced site, launched in 2017. It has eight years of historical reports on mushroom hunting in the U.S. states.

The first morel of 2024 was reported in Georgia in late February.

There haven't been any reported sightings of morels yet in Massachusetts. The closest reported sighting was in northern New Jersey.

Keep in mind, as we move toward warmer temperatures, there’s only a small window to find morels, which are really just decaying fungi that pop out of the ground under just the right fusion of atmospheric conditions and pollen counts.

Weather patterns have everything to do with the timing of morel mushroom season. Prime mushroom hunting time is usually over by Mother’s Day, which is on Sunday, May 12, this year.

The ‘Sacred Mushroom’

Hunting mushrooms isn’t just a folksy tradition. It’s an opportunity to make some quick cash. Morels are so prized, they can sell commercially for hundreds of dollars. Fresh morels found in the Pacific Northwest were going for more than $400 a pound from one company in early April.

If you’ve never experienced these earthy, woodsy and nutty tastes of spring, don’t turn down an invitation to partake in their deliciousness. The Food Network gets positively weepy over morel mushrooms.

Alex Guarnaschelli of “Iron Chef” called them the “sacred mushroom,” wrote food author Simon Majumdar, who said the mention of morel mushrooms “will bring a look of appreciation to every chef” he encounters.

“The morel, or morchella, is actually more related to the truffle than it is to other mushrooms and, like truffles, is the fruit of a fungus that sprouts in the moist soil of woods and forests,” Majumdar wrote. “There are debates about the number of different types of morel, but the most common ones are black morels and yellow morels. They both have a stem and a conical body that is covered with pits and ridges like a honeycomb, which makes them instantly recognizable to anyone who spends time hunting for them.”

Morel mushrooms are used heavily in French cooking, but the most common among morel cooking methods in the United States is to dip the mushrooms in egg, dredge the mushrooms in flour or seasoned bread crumbs or crackers, and fry them in butter.

Before You Head Into The Woods …

Mushrooms are typically found from March to May. Morels prefer certain habitats, for example near the base of dead or dying elm trees or around ash, tulip and old apple trees. Experienced hunters also report finding them in areas around washes, downed trees or logging areas, old flood plains, and burn sites.

Even seasoned foragers are often disappointed. One year might produce a bumper crop of morels and, the next year, the same spot can be fallow.

The website Mushroom Appreciation offers morel hunting tips. After nighttime low temperatures warm up to 40 degrees or above, head out into the woods on a warm morning after a spring rain.

The big thing to know before heading out is how to recognize the difference between an edible morel and a poisonous false morel that can make you sick or even kill you. This page has everything you need to know about morel mushroom identification.

No matter how tempting, “don’t pick every mushroom you see,” the site suggests. “Leave a few, so they can continue to drop spores and you and others can enjoy them for years to come.”

Also, be sure to take along a map, compass and a phone with GPS tracking. While practicing safe social distancing, it’s also a good idea to take along a friend. Mace or pepper spray is a good idea, too, in case you run into a moose, bear or dog taking exception to you tromping around the woods.

Mushroom Appreciation cautions against coming right out and asking hunters where precisely to find morel mushrooms, though.

“If you have superior charm and people skills, you might try asking about local morels in a roundabout and modest way,” the site advises. “Just beware that you may not get the desired response, or you may wind up with directions to the local haunted forest!”

The Great Morel is accepting reports of morel sightings through its website, or by emailing them to [email protected] with the ZIP code, city, state and date found, along with any other helpful information, such as weather conditions. Don’t worry — the exact location where hunters found the morels is sacrosanct.