View Full Version : Morel mushrooms
squirrel bait
04-01-2004, 12:08
Does anybody look for morels during the season?
I suspect thru-hikers wouldn't want to waste time/daylight looking for them much other than maybe checking out likely spots at camp or rest times. How about section hikers who may or may not have more time? Is picking fungi violating Leave no trace, ramp eaters what do you think? Are you violating state/federal laws concerning fauna? Around the midwest it is illegal to pick wildflowers/plants but okay for mushrooms.
I think the rules vary.
I am rather certain that you can collect fruits and mushrooms for personal consumption in SNP, for example. If you get arrested, please don't call me in as an expert witness, though. I've read that they nab people for poaching galax (used by florists) along the Blue Ridge Parkway with some frequency. People head to SNP just to hunt them though, right?
In other parks, wilderness areas It may or may not be permitted, or a permit might be required.
As for LNT, ethics?
I am confilcted on morrels.
bobgessner57
04-01-2004, 20:14
Seen plenty of people hunting psyclocibin (sp?) mushrooms on cowpies. Don't know about morells. Definitely a no no in wilderness areas and in many parks. I would use my own judgement about harvesting edibles of any sort in legal areas in order to ensure a future supply.
Puffballs are a great delicacy; slice about 1/4 inch thick, saute in butter or whatever trail grease you have and savor. They are most common around grassy areas. I don't think many townsfolk would mind if you removed a couple (with permission of course).
I've rooted around in the Smokies for morels before, but haven't had the discipline to look hard for them, and so haven't found any. Chicken of the Woods is easy to spot and seems to be fairly common. Make a nice addition to the daily meal. As far as regulations go, collecting certain easily renewable plants in the park is okay. As far as I can tell, mushrooms are fair game in the park, and so should also be okay even in the forest lands around it. Ramps were recently banned from collection.
Texas Dreamer
04-02-2004, 10:00
Does anyone have any books to recommend on the subject of edible/poisonous plants along the trail. I know quite a bit about such things in Texas, because of my work in living history and museums (you know, telling folks what was for dinner in the "old days"). This kind of thing is definitely regional, though: I doubt they eat Mesquite beans in Virginia, and I've never seen a ramp. I would like to study the topic, not so much for harvesting purposes, but more because it will be fun to identify things when I finally get there.
Jersey Bob
04-02-2004, 12:42
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Never heard of that. I'm assuming these are mushrooms?
Chicken of the Woods is a tasty fungus that grows on dead trees. Bright orange and yellow, it screams: "Don't touch me! Forget about eating me!" Despite its appearance, it is quite edible and nothing much looks like it. I've seen quite a bit of it on the AT, which leads me to believe that not many hikers know what it looks like.
Jersey Bob
04-02-2004, 13:15
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Moon Monster
04-04-2004, 03:03
A friend and I hit a mother lode of morels going up Chestnut Knob in Virginia last April. We filled a 2 gallon ziploc in about 15 minutes--we were keeping score at first, but we lost count. It was an amazing find. A friend had just a couple days before taught us how best to hunt for them. Once we found the first one by a chance sighting, we honed in on many more. We later ran accross a beautiful patch of large ramps. In the cabin at the summit that night, we cooked everything up in some olive oil and had a grand meal while it sleeted and rained outside.
I did later have some qualms about taking so many of the things, but we got so caught up in the hunt and the find that we didn't consider consequences. Still, there were dozens more sprouting that we did not touch--we only took the big ones. These things were all right within eyesight of the AT.
flyfisher
04-04-2004, 07:35
Chicken of the Woods is a tasty fungus that grows on dead trees. Bright orange and yellow, it screams: "Don't touch me! Forget about eating me!" Despite its appearance, it is quite edible and nothing much looks like it. I've seen quite a bit of it on the AT, which leads me to believe that not many hikers know what it looks like.
Would this be Chicken of the Woods? I took the picture in NC about 20 May last year.
http://www.imrisk.com/AT/AT16fungus.jpg