Types Of Poisonous Mushrooms: False Morels
- Image by Odalaigh via Flickr
Among the types of poisonous mushrooms, false morels are more difficult to deal with for an untrained mushroom hunter. One of the reasons being that a false morel very much resembles a true morel in some characteristics but the most evident is by the structure of the cap.
It is because of this that false morels are so easily mistaken for true morels in which people ingest these mushrooms thinking they are safe to eat, which sometimes they are but for many others it could be potentially dangerous.
Although false morels have a similar looking cap to a true morel it can be relatively easy to distinguish once you know what to look for. False morels will in most cases, have a brainy-looking texture for a cap.
They also tend to bulge out with folds and flaps whereas a true morel will have clearly visible pits and ridges and although they may also look brainy to an untrained eye, they are well-structured, meaning it almost looks uniform all around. The cap of a false morel will also seem to hang over the stem like a skirt but on a true morel the cap will appear to be attached to the stem on the edge.
There is one other way you can determine whether or not you may or may not have stumbled across a false morel. This involves cutting the mushroom in half because you will be looking at the stem.
If you see that the stem is full or very much solid, chances are you had a run-in with a false morel. True morels in most cases have a hollowed-out stem and occasionally may have stems that appear to be solid as well.
Now that you have a basic understanding of what to look for in false morels and true morels, go out there and start scavenging. If you would rather not venture out on a mushroom hunt, why not learn how to grow mushrooms to enjoy at home? For the rest of you adventurous folk, good luck.