Hubby Spotted This MUSHROOM From the Car!!!

[EweSheep]

 

[swampducks]

I wouldn't eat that thing. My neighbor calls them beef steaks too, they grow same time as real morels. DH read about them in a mushroom book and says they give off hydrazine when cooked. That's rocket fuel. My stomach couldn't take it.

Here's what I mean:

"GYROMITRA ESCULENTA, the beefsteak morel , or "the" false morel, is, after the true morels, the most important spring mushroorn that mushroomers need to know. The beefsteak morel has caused more serious poisonings and fatalilies than any other species that fruits in ths spring.

Its fruiting bodies have been likened to a crumpled rusty can or mass of sunburned earthworms on a stick. In young specimens the stalk appears to be stuffed with cotton. By maturity, the "cotton' collapses and the stalk is hollow but note that the hollow does not extend into the head as it does in a true morel. The head is lobed and wrinkled, somewhat in the manner of a collapsing parachute or the surface of brain. The head varies in color from dingy yellow to brownish red.

Of all the morels and lorchels that occur in Michigan, the beefsteak morel has about the longest fruiting time on record, from early April into June. It occurs in a variety of habitats primarily on sandy soil and under pines and aspens; however, it has been found under hardwoods and in open sunny areas as well. This species apparently does not occur in the southern portion of the Lower Peninsula, but it is abundant in the Upper Peninsula. Fruiting bodies of this species, under certain conditions, yield the same compound as is used in some rocket fuels. It will not put you in orbit, but it might put you "out". There is more controversy about the edibility of this species than any other wild mushroom in Michigan.

Many people consume beefsteak morels, gyromitra esculenta, without developing noticeable symptoms of hydrazine poisoning. As a result, people think these are perfectly safe to eat and pass them around to their friends or sell them with no warnings. They are not a safe species to consume in quantity, no matter how they are prepared. Of the recorded poisonings by the beefsteak morel, 14% were fatal."

from this website: http://www.exploringthenorth.com/morel/mush.html

(edited to add excerpt)

 

[sred98]

WAIT!!!! That really looks like a FALSE MOREL! http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel.html

I am also PM'ing you!

Shelly

 

[Imp]

I've been shrooming for years and think swampducks and sred98 are correct. Can be deadly raw, maybe a little better parboiled or dried. Lots of people do eat them, but the difference between a "safe" and "dangerous" dose is very small.

Imp

They contain both chemicals mentioned.

 

[maplesky7]

um...chicken farmer....you there?

 

[sred98]

I posted here, pm'd and sent them email through BYC. I hope they aren't in the ER right now. Shouldn't be deadly deadly, but they might get sick. I wish I had seen this earlier!

We also eat morels, and try to keep an eye out for these. I am hoping when they cut them open they noticed it looked weird. I hope they post tonight and let us know they are ok!!!!!

Shelly

 

[mjdtexan]

was it growing in a cow pie?

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

Don't worry.... all alive and well here!

Seriously, I appreciate the concern. I should have mentioned that I won't be eating that monster (not a mushroom fan) and I won't let the kids, either.

We have friends in their 60's who have ate them for years with no ill effects. Hubby shared it with them.
His life insurance policy is in good standing.....

as I reminded him.

Thanks again.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

Quote:
Now that would be toxic!!

 

[maplesky7]

You're alive!!!!!

oooooooh......




















Barbara Manatee...manatee...manatee....you are the one for me, one for me, one for me...