The Call of the Wild Mushroom

By / Photography By | February 16, 2021
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A foraging primer

With winter’s final thaw almost within reach, mushroom hunters are at-the-ready to start searching decaying logs, the tall trunks of aged elms or just about any other woodsy place in Michigan’s great outdoors where an edible mushroom might pop up.

Seeking these often elusive and always a little mysterious delicacies of the forest can be a perpetual treasure hunt, but also a little daunting.

“It’s not too hard to get started,” says Tim James, professor of ecology and biology and curator of fungi at the University of Michigan Herbarium. He’s also one of the directors of Midwest American Mycological Information (MAMI), a nonprofit that aims to increase awareness of fungi in the environment, on the table and in the classroom. “We believe that, with a little bit of study and a little bit of experience, you can go out and forage for yourself.”

To learn the intricacies of mushroom identification, says James, it’s best to start with a club or expert guide, rather than relying solely on apps, websites and books. Of the more than 20,000 mushroom species in the world, roughly about 2,000 are edible and about 15—30 species are commonly eaten, he estimates. Then again, 400 species are poisonous—and at least six of those are lethal. That’s a great reason to work with an expert until you are absolutely certain you can ID them yourself.

Foragers collecting for the table need to have a solid grasp not just of the edible species, but also of our area’s roughly 20 poisonous species, including the false morel, an imitator of what is undoubtedly the state’s most popular edible mushroom.

The morel (Morchella) is among Michigan’s first mushrooms of the season, making its appearance in late April through May. Around that same time, foragers might find Cerioporus squamosus and oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushrooms. As for where to find them, the best place to start is anywhere they’ve been spotted in the past.

“If you find a patch, go back the next year and keep going back until it stops producing,” suggests James. “That’s because the fungus is living and thriving underground. It survives through the winter.”

That said, try not to overharvest choice edibles from a hunting ground any given year, because it’s likely to drive down productivity in the long run, says James.

Phil Tedeschi, former president and lifetime member of the Michigan Mushroom Hunters Club, estimates he’s tasted more than 140 species of mushrooms. That’s just a drop in the bucket of the some 3,600 species he says are documented in Michigan.

“There’s a whole world out there that most people know nothing about. It takes years to learn the mushrooms well. I’ve been at it almost 50 years and I still consider myself a student,” says Tedeschi. But don’t let those numbers intimidate you. “I can take an interested beginner and in a year have them knowing 30—40 species.”

While some club members might consider it heresy, Tedeschi jokes, the state’s two most popular morels—the black and the white—are down at numbers seven and eight on his list of top 10 Michigan edible mushrooms.

“There are at least six I put ahead of them in taste,” he says. “Black trumpets and chanterelles are right up there.”

Others include pig’s ears (Gomphus clavatus) and shaggy parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes), right at the top. And don’t worry that you have to be up north or in the UP, home of the state’s “humongous fungus.” Tedeschi has found plenty of species in Southeastern Michigan too: “Almost all of those I’ve mentioned so far we’ve found around here. We’re blessed with a lot of state land in this area.”

Although not allowed at many metro Detroit county parks or Metroparks, foraging is permitted in Michigan state parks, recreation areas and forests, unless an area is otherwise marked.

“You can forage for items that don’t harm the plants—mushrooms, berries, nuts, fruiting things—on state lands,” says Rachel Coale, communications representative with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “Anything we can do to encourage people to get out in nature.”

The DNR even lists recent prescribed-burn sites where foragers might have luck finding morels. The problem now might be that everyone else could be there too, with the pandemic driving people to take advantage of the park systems.

“We’ve been seeing people come out in droves,” says Coale, adding that the department estimates a 25 percent increase in some places. “It’s pretty amazing to see how nature has been a balm for some people. The public lands are there for you to roam and enjoy, but also respect them.”

Chef and forager Kevin Penn of Marion Township, near Howell, jokes about how he would take notice whenever he saw people along dirt roads during morel season: “I see people walking around on the side of the road with grocery bags and I go back.”

“Nobody will share their spots. Don’t ever ask anybody where they hunt for mushrooms. They’ll either laugh at you or lie to you,” says Penn, director of culinary for CommonSail Investment Group, where he manages regional and executive chefs at senior living properties spanning seven states. Penn returns to his favorite spots each year. “If the overnight temperature is right and it’s the right time of year, I know there will be mushrooms there and I go get them.”

In the springtime Penn says he keeps an old onion bag in his car, in case he finds morels. Some say using a net bag like this allows the mushrooms to spread their spores after you pick them to help make sure there will be more next year, says Penn, adding that he personally thinks they already have spread their spores. “I mostly use the onion bag in case there are any bugs.”

For Penn, mushroom-hunting became a fun family activity—”Kids are really good at hunting for morels; it’s like a treasure hunt”—but also a challenge and an opportunity to stock up on prime ingredients for his home kitchen.

“The morel is the gateway mushroom of mushroom hunters because it’s so easily identifiable and it’s hard to mistake a false morel for a real morel. It’s an entry-level mushroom-hunter’s mushroom that everybody knows about, especially in Michigan,” says Penn, adding with a chuckle, “When I find morels I sauté them in butter and shallots and eat them out of a cereal bowl.”

If you find a morel big enough, Penn suggests stuffing it with crabmeat or goat cheese, or anything else that goes well with mushrooms.

Other mushroom species on his culinary radar are the hedgehog, hen of the woods and lobster varieties. Where he lives—on five acres with an abundance of oak and shagbark hickory trees—he regularly finds oyster mushrooms on stumps in the early spring and late fall and in between chicken of the woods, which he blanches and then fries to make a vegetarian “chicken tender.” Any mushrooms he doesn’t prepare right away he sautés with shallots and freezes to use in later dishes.

Penn reiterates that it’s best to forage with someone knowledgeable about fungi, and to consult guidebooks to ensure that your findings aren’t poisonous, toxic or past their prime.

“Make sure you know what you’re picking and you’re out with someone who can confirm it before you eat anything,” he says. “You can find old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters, but never old, bold mushroom hunters. I’m not going to try to be brave eating mushrooms. I’ve got to be 100 percent that it’s safe.”

As Tedeschi says: “When in doubt, throw it out. It’s not worth taking a chance. There are mushrooms out there that can kill you.”

That might explain why federal law requires certification to sell wild mushrooms, including chaga, reishi and turkey tail varieties, often used medicinally in a tincture or a tea. MAMI conducts the certification process for the state, using materials created in part by Tedeschi, who is on their board.

“If you were to look at traditional knowledge, it’s undeniable that botanicals have had a huge impact on society and the sources that we use,” says James. “But it’s hard even for a mycologist to really know what’s going on with the question of how medicinal are mushrooms.”

That intrigue, curiosity and challenge allures foragers, says Penn: “You know just over the hill there may be this mother lode of morels or hen of the woods.”