The author, Theresa Maybrier and her husband, John, have a passion for the morel stemmed as a result of hunting with Larry Lonik, aka “the Mushroom Man” from Michigan. Lonik died in 2003, and the Maybriers decided to form a team “to promote and educate all enthusiasts in the proper way of hunting and collecting morel mushrooms.” They called themselves Team Morel, “an army of three.” Theresa and her John do not claim to be mycologists, but they wrote about their travels and tips in a book titled “Enjoy … the Sport of Morel Hunting.” Theresa shares her tips and knowledge of both the black and white morels based on a normal Michigan spring…2025 does not appear to be a ‘normal spring.’
The black morel (left), the white morel (center) and the half-cap morels (right). Morels are easy to identify as the stem and cap are connected and they are completely hollow. This identification works for all varieties of true morels. Reminder: morel season starts when the ground temperatures are in the middle fifties.
Season of the Black Morels
Spring is my favorite time of year. I feel hope in the air as the ground starts warming up, the birds are nesting, and the bugs are everywhere. The snow and ice melt off, renewing the streams. Most favorably, it is the time of year that the black morels normally start poking their caps out of the ground.
Morel season starts when the ground temperatures are in the middle fifties. For those of us who are following air temperatures, it’s when there has been no frost for a week, and daytime temperatures are generally in the low fifties, nighttime temperatures don’t dip below forty degrees. Morels will be scattered between the trees in the open areas where the ground warms up first or on the northwest banks of creeks and rivers where the sun shines in. As you bend over to pick one black morel, you will usually see another and another; they are seldom alone.
Among the birch and poplar trees, they will often tuck in next to the trunk, and in an area, they will all be on the same side of the tree.
One of my favorite finds is a triple trunk tree where standing rainwater in the crouch of the trunks has killed one portion of the trio. This is especially true of the cherry trees. Typically, there will be morel mushrooms from the base of the tree out on the ground below the edges of the branches and beyond.
Another early possible find is along railroad tracks and power lines where the trees and shrubs have been cut back. The sun warms up the ground early, especially on the sunny side. Similarly, where brush busting and clearing have been done for trails, ski lifts and two tracks, morels will be found.
Another great place to find morels (all varieties) is in old orchards. Morels are like the apples to the trees. The mushroom carries the spore like the apple carries the seed. When fruit trees are pruned, the underground “matching” root material dies, providing food for the underground morel organism. The fallen fruit also provides a food source. People who have access to orchards seldom share their secret spots because, in orchards, morels occur annually. In the woods, morels cycle. Often, when people go back to the same tree they found morels one year, and they are absent the next, they are both disappointed and confused. No wonder morels are called the illusive mushroom.
These same areas where black morels are found will soon have half-cap morels. The caps look similar to black morel caps but with much longer stems. They are easy to identify as the stem and cap are connected and they are completely hollow. This identification works for all varieties of true morels.
Half cap morels like warmer temperatures, usually in the high fifties, low sixty degree temperatures. They can be out in the open or tucked under the trees and shrubs.
Black morels dry and reconstitute easily, but eating them fresh is especially nice when it has been a long winter of waiting. This is the true motivator to take a walk in the woods.
Season of the White Morels
Most Mayday (the first day of May) has traditionally been a day to create a makeshift basket, fill it with wild flowers and share it with someone we love. At our house, it is a day to fill a basket with morels and share a skillet full of morels with the ones we love.
Hopefully, the temperatures have warmed up to the high sixties, low seventy-degree temperatures. Now is the time for white morels, from the early tightly grooved variety to the big whites with the broad stems. The season ends when the temperatures reach eighty degrees. The color can be ecru, creamy, grey or ochre. The stems should be white to creamy, they darken with age. The best way to tell if the mushrooms are fresh is to smell them. If they smell bad, they are bad.
These varieties are more directly associated with trees that are dying; the ones that the branches are wilting or they are not getting leaves when the trees around them are. Slipping bark is another good indicator of trees where you might find morels beneath.
This time of year, it is easier to “hunt” the trees than it is to look for the morels. Morels tend to have relationships with white to grey bark trees and do not often appear with nut and acorn-producing trees. Trees like sycamore, birch, poplars and gum trees that drop an abundance of debris throughout the year are especially good tree types to check for morels.
I personally like hilly areas for hunting white morels because their temperature zones for growing can be early or extended depending on which side of a hill you are on or at what elevation.
South and west hillsides and hilltops are warmer than north and east-facing slopes. Deep gullies stay cool long into spring. Think how the snow melts. Creek beds can be warm or cool depending on what direction they flow. If you find morels in a north-south valley, you can repeat that habitat up to a thirty-mile radius and will have similar results finding morels. That is a “hunt pattern.” Hilly areas have several hunt patterns going on at the same time.
White morels are almost always directly associated with a tree that is dying and sometimes woody plant material. Once, in an undisclosed area of northern Michigan, we found morels in a deep thicket of ferns. In another secret spot, we found morels in snake grass. Likewise, near Traverse City, we were finding lots of morels in the raspberry bushes. Needless to say, we got lots of scratches but were not leaving any behind. This is when I like to take my time. Unlike other things we hunt, the morels might hide, but they cannot run away.
At home or at camp, the best way to keep morels fresh is to keep them cool and dry until I am ready to cook them. Cutting them from the ground and placing them in a mesh bag keeps the dirt off and out of them while spreading spores and slightly drying them as we walk through the woods. I only clean them just before cooking when they might need a little reconstituting. A chef taught us to cut the morels into ringlets and start sautéing the stems first as their texture takes a bit longer to cook. Both caps and stems are delicious.
The reward at the dinner table is worth the long hikes, the scratches and scrapes…a treasure like no other.
Happy hunting!
