Deadly morels

Authorities in America have warned people of the dangers of eating raw or under cooked morels after a "significant increase" in the number of poisioning cases.

Eating raw, under cooked & consuming alcohol with morels can cause excessive vomiting within minutes of consumption.


The mushrooms are thriving in the wake of last summer's devastating forest fires, with hundreds of mushroom-pickers camping in the national forests to harvest the mushrooms.

Marilyn Shaw mycologist for the RMPDC said "This is a significant increase over the usual number of reported poisonings due to morel consumption. We want to make sure that all mycophagists are aware of the dangers of eating raw or partially cooked morels, or consuming alcoholic beverages with either raw or cooked morels."

Forest fires are not all bad news

Professional mushroom pickers have flocked to the Cascade and the Boise National Forest`s in North America this month. Almost 1,000 pickers are camped out to hunt full-time for the morels sprouting in areas burned by last year’s devastating forest fires.

The pickers who come from all over America watch the news and the Internet to see where the picking is best. Many of them travel all year round in search of mushrooms with an experienced mushroom hunter being able to earn $50 - $80 dollars a day.

“It’s hard work,” said a picker named Tony — he declined to give his last name — as he sat around a campfire Sunday near Warm Lake, surrounded by buckets of morels. His tent was pitched beside dozens of others, tied to trees in a burned-out clearing. Blue tarps formed a vast sheltered space where tired pickers rested and chatted around fires.

“But it’s fun and good exercise,” said Koy Chounlabout, a spokeswoman of sorts for the picking community who gives her home as Oregon’s Willamette Valley. “It clears your mind.”

Mark Loseke, who is coordinating the Forest Service’s response to the influx, has never seen this many pickers —not even in the 1980s, when hundreds poured in after forest fires. As of Monday, his office in Cascade had issued 950 commercial permits costing $20 a week, and he expects the applications to keep coming.

Giant morel found

American Charley Robinson has found a giant morel measuring 17 inches in girth and weighing 1.25 pounds, he said.

''I have been trying to find out what the records are for morels, but so far have struck out. I have found references to some around a pound, but none as large as mine, though I don't doubt that there are some.''

Mr Robinson 61 has been searching for morels for more than three decades near his home in Sanford and couldn't believe his eyes when they focused on the giant fungi near his cabin. Robinson let the mushroom grow for 10 days before picking it confident that know one else would find it.

''I have learned not to pick them until they feel a little dry,'' Robinson said. ''That is when they quit growing. It was still growing when I picked it. But I didn't want to risk someone else finding it.''


''It sure dwarfed the others that grew in the same area, even though they were all above average size,'' Robinson said.

Robinson said the exact location where he found the mushroom is ''classified.''

''I have hunted morels most of my life and have it down to a science,'' Robinson said. ''I have always found them in areas that had been burned over.

Unidentified Giant Mushroom Mystery

A Suffolk gardener has discovered a giant mushroom measuring 2-3 inches in diameter growing against a tree in her garden in Langham near Bury.

The surprised nature lover Cilia Simms and her husband Peter first noticed the giant mushroom at the weekend and have been trying unsuccessfully every since to identify the giant mushroom.

Cilla Simms explains “When I saw how big it was, it gave me goosebumps. We have had two or three mushrooms against the tree but I have never seen anything like this before. I think my garden was once a meadow as it has always been a bit wild. But this is a mystery and it is really fascinating.”

If you can help Mrs Simms identify the giant mushroom then please leave a comment.

Mushrooms - the great insulator?

Mushrooms could soon be used to insulate homes. That's right. An American company has invented a pioneering product called (not very inventively) "Greensulation".

The product is currently undergoing testing, but its makers say it could potentially hit the market as soon as 2010.
These chaps have produced an insulator using our friend the mushroom - plus rice hulls and recycled paper. When mixed together with water and hydrogen peroxide, placed in plastic containers and put in a dark place it then literally grows into shape.

So now not only can you insulate yourself against the cold with a piping hot bowl of wild mushroom soup - you can put the stuff into your homes and keep the whole family warm!