May is for Morels
Morels appear fleetingly in May (Photo by MNgilen).
I admit that our native landscape to me is at its most intriguing from the months of May to October. There are of course the obvious reasons of plants filling in and flowers blooming, but for those who esteem mushrooms and relish the hunt, the months of May and October stand out as marking the beginning and the end of the mushroom season in Illinois. And there is some symmetry to it.
After summer, the first cold night of the year–if preceded by a decent rain–brings forth the sudden appearance of Sheep’s Head mushrooms, which blossom in profusion at the base of ancient oaks. In the spring, the first warm night of the year–if preceded by a decent rain–calls forth golden and silver morels, typically where trees have died or been cleared. Sheepshead seem to require pristine first growth oak forests. Morels seem to prefer waste land.
They are somehow opposites and somehow symmetrical, sort of like those symbols you find in the East.
Sure, there are mushrooms that may appear before the morel and after the Sheep’s Head, but it’s in between these two that you will find the choice ones.
Anyway, since we declared April for Walleye, May is for Morels.
Possibly related posts:
Loading ...
