Q: My German in-laws are visiting and want to go hunting morel mushrooms in the woods by our house. They seem to know what to look for but I don’t want our American morels to confuse them. Is there a guide to edible morels?

A: I want your kin to have positive memories of their visit, so correct identification is important. The authors of a morel guide say “The sponge mushrooms (morels and false morels) are among the early spring arrivals throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. Most college and university biology teachers in the mid-continent and adjacent regions are familiar with these fungi, but without mycological training are unable to identify most of them with any degree of confidence. Some of these species are choice edibles; whereas, others possess different degrees of toxicity.”

Print out their guide and present it to your German family.

SPRING MORELS AND FALSE MORELSOF MIDCONTINENTAL U.S.

morel