Hoosierfunguy

At first glance they have the physical traits of a gymnopilus junonius, but the spore print of the gymnopilus is reported to be rusty brown. It's an interesting find. 

Looks like a great season for you too! I've only been out three times,  but found more than ever before.   Congratulations there!

It looks like a pazizomycetes (cup shaped fungus) which species,  I do not know.  

I recently found more Devil's Urn cup shaped fruiting bodies 

3 hours ago, Aaron M said:

I boycott Facebook so a bit of a shame that there is not updated info here. Just joined the micological society and was hoping for a bit more of a community Vibe and support from fellow foragers.

This used to be a much more active community

 Do you know of any other actual community in the world of mycology, where people actively engage each other? 

I literally signed up here 7 or 8 years ago to find others that have a strong interest in fungi, because I don't know anyone in my life that does and very few people even show a slight interest 

Found some grays yesterday up here in northwest Indiana.  There are already reports of morels popping in the U.P., Northern Wisconsin and Central Minnesota.  Seems a bit early for them,  but the reports are coming in

3 week update: yesterday I went out and found a small handful of half-free morels,  but no grays or blacks 

22 hours ago, SareyJane said:

I haven’t been able to find updates on the Fb group either. If you’ve seen an update for this event, could you please tag me [Sareyjane Jameson] on Fb? Thank you!

It doesn't look like the administrator has seen this post yet.  It's kind of late to get info about the hunt.  I'm not on FB, so maybe someone else will play tag with your name lol

Cool! Last year I discovered that morels are a LOT easier to spot with an LED light at night.  They tend to not hide as well among the leaves and shadows.  Pretty neat to see.  

What geographic area are you in?

I'm thinking they're about to be prime here in northwest Indiana 

This would be helpful for us that keep track of this site. I know that the site administrator updates the Facebook page with details,  while this site seems to have been left in the wake, in that regard.  

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience 

As of today, there have been 5 reports in Indiana on "The Great Morel" sightings map.  The northernmost sighting was 5 days ago west of Indianapolis, so they're just starting to pop.  The morels up here are about two weeks behind Indy, every year, so I'll be out in a about 3 weeks. 

Southern Indiana's morel harvesting is optimum right now

Velvet Foot Enoki (Flammulina Velutipes) mushrooms grow during the late fall and winter on elm trees and they just so happen to share the same habitat with the elusive, and much prized morels. Enokis are much easier to spot from a distance because of their orangish color. If you find enokis in the winter, you have a much higher probability of finding morels in that same location in the spring.  I just learned that recently,  so I plan to be putting it to the test.  I also found these shelf mushrooms.  I think they are mock oysters, but I'm unsure. I found a lot of winter delights yesterday.  

I realized that (about it not being a mushroom) after I posted it. Thanks

   I have just recently started to learn more about it and it appears to have some really tremendous medicinal value to it,  from balancing sugar/ insulin levels,  introducing Betulinic Acid to target cancer cells (if the chaga was growing on birch),  loaded with up to 85% max capacity of antioxidants the body can use,   high in melanin, great for fending off skin cancer & generating vitamin D; that's just the tip of a very beneficial iceberg,  with all the compounds it holds. There are some benefits that can only be gotten while the chaga is fresh and moist.

The taste is very subtle with hints of malt, coffee, trace vanilla. It goes very well with coffee or cocau, cream and maple syrup for a hot chocolate drink.  I've read that it removes the bitterness from coffee and enhances the robustness of coffee beans;  I'll be trying that soon enough lol

It tastes great by itself with nothing, but it is a really friendly ingredient to many things.  The tea will stay in the fridge for over a month.  Using it in bread will extend the bread life.  Just seems there are so many uses for this.  I'm loving it.  Can't wait to one day find Lion's mane and Reishi 

Today I found my first find of Chaga. But it wasn't just one fruiting body, it was seven different mushrooms on two different trees.  Both of them were River Birch trees,  which I didn't think would grow on. I know they aren't very common in Indiana (especially the further south you go), but I was joyful to be able to harvest these on river birch trees on the bank of a creek in sandy soil in a well shaded area.  The trees were alive,  but not looking very healthy.  

I just wanted to share my find! I'm always up for a mushroom hunt in northwest Indiana.  

Looks like a shaggy parasol,  but there are toxic lookalikes. I ate the wrong one early in my learning.  I was violently ill for two days.  

Looks like you've got quite a variety! Thanks for sharing. 

Here's a link to a website that publishes morel sightings throughout America: 

https://www.thegreatmorel.com/morel-sightings/

Looks like they're creeping northward 👍🏼

Morel season here in northern Indiana usually runs between the last week of April to the first or second week of June but in the average,  prime time is the first three weeks of May. 

The blacks usually come in first and then the grays and then the yellows. It's mostly based on soil temperature and that changes every year.  Blacks pop above 45°F Grays closer to the 50° and above and the yellow seem consistent at closer to 60°. I usually probe the soil at a depth of 2"-3" and test in the morning and the evening to get a mean temp.  They do pop earlier on southern facing slopes. I hope you find the mother load.  I've been hunting morels for almost 20 years and I've  never found more than a a couple pounds and never have found that elusive mother load.  Hopefully this year will be different lol 

It does look like wood ear. I personally don't know of any toxic lookalikes. There is always a risk when consuming wild mushrooms. It's best to be certain of the identification of them prior to sampling any (even ones that are commonly choice or good edible species). Sometimes some people will have a toxic reaction to one, when others never do.  When consuming a wild mushroom for the first time, I usually keep a sample in the fridge and another sample in the freezer so that any people that are survived by me can assist the coroner in knowing if this was the cause of my death...?

Hi Nikki and welcome to the forum.  I've seen that the foray information isn't always updated on this particular site and sometimes it takes a week or more for someone to reply. If you have a Facebook account,  I've read that they are more active on there than here.  I don't have Facebook,  so I cannot confirm.  

Honestly,  since morel season ended,  I haven't gone out looking either.  I just happened to see these while fishing and found a motherload of Chanties at a friend's house around his front lawn.  ?‍♂️

This was a pleasant and unexpected find while fishing the other morning. Kinda like that fawn that still has its spots.  They sure look pretty,  but they taste even better.  lol

A little over a pound of good ones. They'll be consumed with delight! 

On 8/12/2021 at 9:56 AM, LilBit said:

Hey there. First post and first time looking for chanterelles. Can you guys verify these are chanterelles? After a little research I think they are the smooth variety. Found south of Martinsville. They were found singly or in small clusters growing up out of the soil away from trees.

Likely Cantharellus Lateritius aka smooth chanterelle. 

I've found a few really large amounts of these before.  They taste just as good as a common chanterelle but not as good as a cinnabar red chanty.