Hey everyone, it’s Joe and today I have a story to share with you about my recent morel mushroom hunting expedition. Now, normally I’d be hyped up to tell you about my epic haul of these elusive fungi, but unfortunately, this time around, I came up empty-handed. Yep, you heard that right, after hours of hiking, scouring the forest floor, and following every tip and trick in the book, I didn’t find a single morel mushroom. So, why am I sharing this with you? Well, I think it’s important to share both the good and the bad experiences, and even though I didn’t find any morels, I still had an awesome time, and I learned a lot about the art of mushroom hunting. So, stick around and let me tell you all about my morel mushroom hunting adventure, even though it didn’t exactly go as planned.

 

You Can Help Stop The Spread of Invasive Species

 

One important thing to remember for anyone hiking in the woods is to be sure to decontaminate their footwear and clothing between locations, making sure not to be carrying plant propagules from place to place. Of particular concern in the habits that people mushroom hunt is garlic mustard, whose tiny seeds would go unnoticed in dirt and mud. One variety of damaging invasives that are prevalent in the greater Cadillac area is the garlic mustard plant. Garlic mustard releases a chemical that kills the natural fungi in the soil, which our native species need to survive. Where it is allowed to persist in the woods, it ultimately leads to a monoculture and that would likely impact mushroom populations.
 

Spot an invasive species? You can report it here!

You can play an important role in the early detection and rapid response to new invasive threats in your area by contributing invasive species observations to the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN) database. The MISIN smartphone app provides a mobile solution for the capture of invasive species field observation data.