Hunting for Western Natural Morels

How many natural black morels can you see...









left clicking on the photographs will enlarge most of them

...they hide in the spring grass and plants...





















There are black morels in this photo also...









...the rough flat item in the center is bark off of a tree...











...were you able to see these two black natural morels when you first looked here...
















Do you see the single morel...

...look closer at the base of the tree in the center of the photo...






...morels often hide in plain sight but when shadows or plants break the viewing plane it can become more difficult.


















In this photo you can utilize the tree branches to help pin-point the morel location...









 
...hint, look at the 'V' shape of branches in the second photo and look for the same pattern in the first.

In 1997 the natural morels were very prolific in the Blue Mountains, some people reported seeing clusters of thirty or more morels.



UPDATE April 7007, I received a report of a cluster of 100 morels.

oh what I would have given to have a photograph of it before they were picked....

I have been known to drive hundreds of miles to photograph unusual morels.



















I enjoy finding morels growing with wild flowers such as Yellow Violets.


















































When I saw the small portion of forest floor pushed up like a trap-door I did not believe it was done by a morel...










...but there was a tiny natural morel less than one inch tall...



...after I harvest a mushroom I make sure that the soil is placed back as it was originally and tamped down.








White Eagle Mountain Black Naturals...







...It seems to me that the natural morels...









...found on White Eagle Mountain...











...are a bit different than other Western Natural Blacks.


















...just a lonely cluster...

...I call the area where these morels grow, White Eagle River Valley...

...a single White Eagle Natural Morel.
























To some foragers Logger Morels are a different variety of Black Morel...

...there are several morels in the needle & limb slash to the left of the stump...



...they are referred to as loggers because they flush after logging has occurred...


...in the NW USA logging blocks usually produce this morel the year following the tree harvest west of the Cascade Mountain Ridge...

...or two years following the harvest when it was done east of the Cascade Ridge...

...of course as with any morel variety there are exceptions to this general supposition and the morels may continue flushing for several years or stop producing after only one season.


I no longer enable the comment area in my blogs because of CLOWNs who feel it is OK to place advertisements on how to make easy money.

.........for anyone reading the comment section. If you desire to make a comment or contact me, please send to: moreldoctor@yahoo.com