Subject: Morels growing in my backyard

From: [email-masked]
Date: 9 Mar 1996 19:57:09 GMT

Hello all,

I live in Laguna Beach, CA.  It has been very damp here and cold.  Growing up from the dirt between the moss-covered bricks in my patio are what look like morels.  They don't look quite like morcella elata, because the ribs are not black.  Otherwise they are very similar to pictures I've seen.  I am not a mushroomer, but am a gourmet cook and would love to eat these if they are safe.  

Are there toxic species which could be mistaken for morels?  I am suprised to find them growing here, is it even possible?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

cheers,
Bill Sanders
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Edward Gosfield)
Date: 17 Mar 1996 22:06:07 GMT

Robert Mulroy ([email-masked]) wrote:
: [email-masked] wrote:
: : Hello all,

: : Are there toxic species which could be mistaken for morels?  I am

: : Any advice would be very much appreciated.

: : cheers,
: : Bill Sanders
: : [email-masked] 

: 	You'd better send them to me for analysis.  

: Bob

some people think Verpa species look like morels.  I don't think so, 
but they probably wouldn't kill you. I have eaten V. bohemica, and like it.  

Some people think Helvella species look like Morels.  I have eaten H. 
lacunosa, and it was bland.

Some people think Gyromitra species look like morels, but G. esculenta
contain monomethylhydrazine, which is bad for your liver and can kill
you(Group V toxins--see Lincoff, or comparable).  There is some argument
about whether the toxic effects are cumulative, or immediate.  It may
depend on the manner of cooking, but why take a chance.  Gyromitra gigas
is "choice" (Miller.) Send 'em all to Bob. 

If you don't know the answer to your question, you shouldn't be eating 
wild mushrooms.  No insult intended.  No mushroom is 'to die for'.  Call 
your local Natural History Museum and ask them when the local mushroom 
club meets. And you can dry all the mushrooms that grow in your yard, for 
when you know enough to ID and eat them safely yourself.  Take some 
photos while they are fresh.

ANY  MUSHROOM CAN CAUSE SEVERE DIGESTIVE UPSET IN A PARTICULAR HUMAN 
BEING.  Worth shouting about.  Ask A.K. Smith (famous field guide author 
and mycologist, who never met a mushroom he could digest)

bon appetit

ted gosfield

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From: [email-masked] (Robert Mulroy)
Date: 17 Mar 1996 16:42:37 GMT

[email-masked] wrote:
: Hello all,

: I live in Laguna Beach, CA.  It has been very damp here and cold.  Growing up 

: Are there toxic species which could be mistaken for morels?  I am suprised to 

: Any advice would be very much appreciated.

: cheers,
: Bill Sanders
: [email-masked] 

	You'd better send them to me for analysis.  

Bob

---

From: Thomas O'Dell <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1996 08:34:04 -0800

My apopolgies is I am attributing this to the wrong source...
anyhow latest word is that all Gyromitra spp. contain at least minute 
quantities of mono-methyl-hydrazine, fatal in moderate doses, highly 
carcinogenic in small... (I don't have a reference at hand, but Dr. N 
Weber at Oregon State would [email-masked])

 > Robert Mulroy ([email-masked]) 
wrote: > 
> is "choice" (Miller.) Send 'em all to Bob. 

[email-masked]
Mycology is better than Urology!