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Elm Trees for Giant Morels In my experience, American Elm trees (Ulmus americana) produce greater numbers of morels per tree than any other type of tree. Under the illustrated dead elm, for example, I once found 165 giant yellow morels in about 5 minutes. They were growing 6 to 12 inches apart from one other and extended about 35 feet in all directions. The only problem was that the elm was surrounded by multiflora rose, and I had to crawl on my belly to pick them. Only dying and recently dead elms produce morels in huge numbers, however. Healthy elms are not productive. Dead elms will continue to produce morels for up to several years after the tree has died. Eventually, once all the bark has fallen off a dead elm, the chances of finding morels under it are minimal. Locating Elms for Morels Look for morels under recently dead or dying elm trees that have been stricken by Dutch elm disease. Healthy or long-dead elms are very rarely productive. Look for elms in shady locations, since the chances of finding morels are minimal under a single elm in someone’s yard, or along a back road, where the lower branches have been removed and lots of bright sunlight falls under the tree. I suspect that in these locations the soil receives less moisture, and morel growth is limited. However, single elms can be very productive if there is lots of shade present--such as when a dense layer of multiflora rose is surrounding the tree (ouch!). One of my favorite trees grows right here in town, about 2 minutes from my house. It is located on a hill just above a Dairy Queen, and is surrounded by multiflora rose. Every year for the last 5 or 6 years, I have collected about 200 morels under that tree. Which Dairy Queen? The one in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. When looking for a new elm spot, I like to drive down back roads in search of elm trees. The first thing I look for is a woods that is full of old trees that are losing their bark. However, just because a tree is losing its bark it is not necessarily an elm, so I often have to get out of the car for further inspection. Elm trees have a distinctive, vase-shaped stature. Their bark is shallowly furrowed with criss-crossing, blunt ridges, and the leaves have serrated edges and uneven bases. Additionally, elm leaves feel rough on their upper surfaces. During morel season, however, the leaves are often a little small to get a good feel, and some searching is needed to find a leaf large enough to identify. In areas that have dead and dying elm trees I find morels under about 1 of every 100-200 trees I check. In my experience, the average elm tree that has morels under it produces between 2 and 40 mushrooms--but if the elm tree is large, it may be one of those special trees that produces 200 or more giant morels at a time. If you are having trouble finding elm locations on your own, I recommend calling your local forestry service and asking them where you can find elm trees. This is best done out of season, and it is probably best to use a non-morel excuse--for example, "My kid is doing a leaf collection for biology class and I was wondering where I could go to find a lot of elm trees." Forestry services often make maps of areas that they survey, and include the types of trees and the percentages of each type in the woods; they usually will photocopy a few pages for you if you ask nicely. Types of Morels Found under Elms The most common morel to grow under dying elms is the Classic Yellow Morel. However, for some reason the yellow morels that grow under elms are typically much larger in size than the yellow morels that grow under other trees. Perhaps the reason is that there are more nutrients released into the soil from an elm when it starts to decline--or perhaps elms have larger root systems than many trees. Occasionally I find a few black morels under elm trees, but they usually represent less than 1 percent of my harvest. False morels are often more common under elms than black morels. In my area, Gyromitra korfii, Verpa conica, and Gyromitra brunnea can often be found growing right beside yellow morels under elms. |
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Cite this page as: Plischke, J. (2005, April). Elm trees for giant morels. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/plischke_01.html |