Forage. Gather. Feast. by Maria Finn

Author:Maria Finn [Finn, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sasquatch Books
Published: 2024-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

MORELS

Morchella

Morels are a delicious fungus with caps of velvety dark ribs and beige pitted surfaces; they are prized for their rich, savory flavor. While some types of morels grow naturally in mixed-conifer forests, when there are forest fires, huge flushes of them can occur the following year, and even after two or three years in the burned area. Foraging for these is a great way to learn about forest fire and regeneration.

When out hunting morels in the late spring / early summer, look for burn areas, but also pay attention to altitude. You need rain for them to flush. They start appearing at lower altitudes, around three thousand feet, and start blooming up the mountain as the snow melts. However, if a fire rages too hot, it burns everything, including the mycelium. These areas look apocalyptic. Yet in the zones not decimated but where the burn moved through, some of the trees are left untouched. It was almost as if the fire moved like a river delta through the thicket, burning some trees and just singeing others, while other trees were left completely alone. Signs of new growth spring up quickly. You’ll see tiny forests of tiny pines poking up through charred dirt. Be careful of the burned root pits, as these are deep holes. But morels may be growing there too.

Nobody really knows why morels follow fire. Some scientists speculate it could have something to do with changes in the soil or the lack of competition from other organisms after a fire, while others believe the shifting availability of food and nutrients is responsible.

Since mushrooms are regenerative by nature, they in turn help the forest grow back after a fire. It might be by breaking down nutrients in the soil or spreading nutrients throughout the burned ground via animals that eat them.

For over thirteen thousand years, Indigenous people in California used controlled burns to manage the lands they hunted, fished, and foraged. They viewed this as tending the lands. And in return they got delicious morels.

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