Where to grow and when to collect morels and stitches in the Moscow region

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Morels are edible, or real - representatives of the Morels family, growing throughout the Northern Hemisphere, Australia and Tasmania. In the Moscow region, mushroom pickers know very well where they grow and when to pick edible mushrooms. In 2020, before harvesting, it is recommended to carefully study the photos of lines and morels in order to avoid poisoning with poisonous mushrooms.

Morels are edible and inedible

Morels are real - a Russian synonym for the numerous scientific names of a representative of the Morechkov family, the Morels genus, this applies to edible morels. The popular name, common in publications for mushroom pickers, reflects the main difference - suitability for food, somewhat conditional.

The mushroom can be eaten only after prolonged boiling or after drying. Morels or Morshells can be easily confused with representatives of other species: stitches, lobster and hats.

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Morels are considered an understudied species. At the beginning of this century alone, more than 80 varieties were described. Scientists believe that some of the previously described varieties are synonyms or subspecies, but there are also quite interesting representatives. For example, there is an opinion that conical and tall are synonyms, as well as round and edible morels.

There are many options for answering the question of where the representatives of morels grow. The wide distribution of Morshells was noted in North America - the USA and Canada, throughout Eurasia and Japan, on the mainland Australia and its hypothetical fragment of Tasmania. One could say that they are found in temperate climates, if not for the last circumstance.

In the Moscow region, mushroom pickers are well aware of when to pick this mushroom. Moreover, it appears in the spring forest and dominates the surrounding space until the rest of the representatives of this numerous and mysterious family were discovered.

According to observations, one can only approximately calculate when to collect edible morels in the Moscow region. Previously, it was believed that the optimal collection time is in May, only the period for decades changes due to the early or late onset of spring heat.

In 2020, there were press reports that due to an unprecedentedly warm winter on the planet, the first morels were discovered in March. In Europe, the appearance of an edible mushroom in March is not uncommon, especially if the winter was warm and without much rainfall. In normal years - from mid-April to late May.

In Russia, this time is somewhat postponed - due to late frosts or cold spring, morels are advised to be harvested from the beginning of May to the end of June. Sometimes they can be found in the fall, if it is rainy, warm, with long-term harbingers of the coming winter.

It is difficult to answer unequivocally where the mushrooms grow, the taste of which is so appreciated by domestic gourmets. Experienced mushroom pickers claim that morels can be found in places that are familiar and not particularly typical for their growth.

They can be found on abandoned and cultivated soils, sandy and lime-rich soils, near dumps that are not very conducive to the growth and old forest fires. General guide to searching: from parks, forests and orchards with apple trees to front gardens, lawns and vegetable gardens in the south of Russia.

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In the Moscow region, you can try your luck with the collection of a gourmet product:

• on river banks, in low-lying areas and floodplains, near streams, along ditches and ravines;
• in deciduous groves, where there is good illumination, in mixed forests and in conifers, in places with dense grass, on lawns, forest edges, under rare bushes;
• under fallen trees, in clearings and clearings, in sandy areas, near burnt-out undergrowth;
• at individual trees in the field or at a summer cottage - poplars and ash trees, oak, birch, alder and willow, near apple trees in garden cooperatives.

Experts say that it is impossible to confuse edible morel with other species of the same family and lines. The conical and the tall ones have the main difference in the shape of the cap, the size and arrangement of the cells.

The kind that is eaten - with a round or egg-shaped cap, large, but light. The hat can reach a diameter of 8 centimeters, the cells in it are somewhat similar to a honeycomb. Inedible morels - with a high conical cap, smaller in size, instead of honeycombs, there are folds on the upper part.

Lines - edibility, distribution zones

The lines, about which there is a widespread misconception that they can be confused with more common morels in everyday life, belong to the genus of the same name. The inexperienced mushroom pickers are misled by a folded cap of an irregular, rounded shape, with folds similar to a yellowish-brown scale.

Such a misconception can become dangerous, since raw lines are deadly. Some researchers believe that no heat treatment can remove toxins.

Gyromitrins - toxic compounds are not removed even after drying. These carcinogens are often the cause of serious poisoning.

However, many mushroom pickers are sure that they can be removed by double boiling. Drying at a warm temperature in the open air (at least six months) is considered the most reliable way to remove toxic compounds.

The places where the lines grow are much less. These are mainly conifers, pine plantings. The time when to collect, coincides with the collection of lines - from the beginning of May to the end of June. However, there are still autumn lines, in which the time to collect is from July to September, and the list of places where they grow is a little wider. Such a mushroom is found in deciduous and pine forests, on rotten trees and stumps, in temperate climates and in the Moscow region.

Summarize

1. It is easy for an inexperienced mushroom picker to confuse morels, edible and inedible, morels with lines.
2. You need to carefully study the photo of mushrooms.
3. It is better to collect mushrooms for cooking with experienced mushroom pickers.
4. Morels lose their toxicity after boiling or drying.
5. The stitches are considered edible and require special processing techniques.