Did not have a stellar year finding morels, but found a couple this spring. Anyone got any good stories................. or pics ???????
heres my story, dang things grow wild in my yard and i hate em!
Here's one. Site says poisonous - I'm still here. Maybe it's what caused me to question authority and think for myself and shun conformity and all that other jazz.
Here's one. Site says poisonous - I'm still here. Maybe it's what caused me to question authority and think for myself and shun conformity and all that other jazz.
Commonly known as the Brain Mushroom because of its much wrinkled, typically reddish-brown cap, Gyromitra esculenta is one of the more distinctive members of the "False Morel" group. Nonetheless, it is sometimes confused with morels (Morchella spp.) The latter are easily distinguished by their longitudinally ridged, pitted caps. Although the species name suggests edibility, Gyromitra esculenta is a questionable choice for the table as it contains monomethylhydrazine (MMH), a volatile toxin which in high doses can be fatal. Anecdotal evidence and preliminary tests by Duffy and Vergeer suggest that California material may not contain high levels of MMH, but caution is still advised. Although we cannot recommend eating this mushroom, it is commonly consumned in the Western United states. If you do try Gyromitra esculenta, it should always be cooked in a well ventilated area to avoid breathing any monomethylhydrazine that might be present and the cooking liquid should be discarded.
Other California Gyromitras include: Gyromitra infula, Gyromitra montana, and Gyromitra californica. Gyromitra infula has a distinctive saddle-shaped cap, the surface of which is wavy to bumpy, but not wrinkled. Gyromitra montana (Snow Mushroom), until recently known locally as G. gigas, is largely a Sierran species. It is shorter, stockier than G. esculenta with a coarsely wrinkled cap only slightly broader than the stipe. Least likely to be encountered is another Sierran species, Gyromitra californica. A beautiful fungus, it has a broad, brown to olive-brown, wavy cap, the margin of which is usually free, and a fluted, cream-yellow, often tinged pinkish stipe.