Morel (?) ID help

[ilikefood]

Hello All:

First time poster here. So I wanted to say "hello" and that I am excited to become a member. I live in River Falls, WI which is about 10 miles south of Hudson off of 94.

I found about a dozen mushrooms yesterday near Baldwin, WI and want some experts to ID them. I think they are morels, but want to be sure before I eat them. They were found near a dead elm and both the stem and cap are hollow.

I also found some ramps.

Even if the mushrooms are not morels, it was still a good day in the woods. I was pretty excited to find the ramps. I can not wait until I get to eat some of those tonight

[NoWiser]

You found yourself some nice morels. Enjoy!

[ilikefood]

NoWiser - Thanks for the ID! I appreciate it. Hopefully they will be enjoyed tonight with the ramps.

Has anyone else found ramps with white/green stems instead of the purple? I found both and it seems the white/green-stemmed ramps were possibly older because there were more leaves, larger bulb, and the start of the flowering stem (maybe called a scape??).

Thanks again!

David

[harvey lee]

One tip if your going to sautee your morels in butter. Place the cut pieces in a bowl for a few hours and them pour of the water. I would do this twice as the morels contain a high percentage of water.

Then your sauteed morels won't be watered down when you make them.

Enjoy.

[Matt Breuer]

Tasty looking morels, nice ramps too!

I've been having trouble finding good pickable ramps. I don't know if they're not big enough yet, or what the deal is. Maybe I'm looking for the wrong thing. Would really like some like what you have pictured to incorporate into some meals!

[daylate]

We call those leeks. Found quite a bit this year and they are still growing. You know they are are leeks(or ramps) because they grow with two shoots from the ground and are purplish near the stem.

[ilikefood]

Thanks for the comments!

This was my first year picking ramps (wild leeks - same thing, just different names). I was surprised to find that only some of the ramps had the purple stems. In my picture, some of the stems are purple; some are not. I also noticed the purple-stemmed ramps usually had one leaf, while the green/white-stemmed ramps had two or three leaves. Also, some of the green/white-ramps also seem to show the start of flower stem (maybe called a scape??). So I wonder if some ramps matured early or had an early start.

I hope to get back to that spot later this week to find more morels and ramps.

[leech~~]

Thanks for the comments!

This was my first year picking ramps (wild leeks - same thing, just different names). I was surprised to find that only some of the ramps had the purple stems. In my picture, some of the stems are purple; some are not. I also noticed the purple-stemmed ramps usually had one leaf, while the green/white-stemmed ramps had two or three leaves. Also, some of the green/white-ramps also seem to show the start of flower stem (maybe called a scape??). So I wonder if some ramps matured early or had an early start.

I hope to get back to that spot later this week to find more morels and ramps.

ilikefood, on the morels with brown stems like the one in your pic, just cut any brown areas out or any other areas that don't looked like they formed well or have mold spots. Nice find and welcome to the site!

[ilikefood]

Leech - Thanks for the info. I am actually letting a couple morels soak right now. Then saute with the ramps and butter. Should be a tasty snack before bed.

Thank you for the welcoming.

[grapeapplepie]

Found this one and a few others like it earlier today, but I'm guessing it's NOT a morel...

[Matt Breuer]

Looks like a peckerhead to me, but it's tough to tell from the pic... Did you slice it open? Or examine the cap and where it met the stipe?

[grapeapplepie]

Thanks Matt, I actually left them where they were. Maybe I'll pick one tomorrow and slice it open and post some pics.

[BigJakeL]

Glad to see your finding some Ramps and Morels in River Falls have yet to be out here in Amery but not you got me itching to get out there! Thanks!

[not_nuf_time]

By the way, don't just soak your shrooms in water, soak them in a saltwater mix. You'ld be surprized at all the bugs and spiders that are in those little grooves on the morels. This will flush them out.