April 2015 • NEBRASKAland 27
stems. Then place the mushrooms in a
mesh bag. This allows your morels to
breath, keeping them fresh and it lets
some of the bugs fall out.
The morel season can last several
weeks in Nebraska depending on
local conditions – soil moisture
and temperature are contributing
factors of the morel's arrival. Many
morel collectors look for warm rains
followed by sunny days with night
temperatures above 45 degrees and
ground temperatures of 50-60 degrees
to prompt the fruiting body of this
mushroom to arrive. A morel will
emerge, grow and die in about four to
six days. Many hunters heed old-time
advice and head to the woods when
the lilacs bloom. Be on the lookout for
morels from mid-to-late April through
May.
Sliced, breaded, seasoned and fried,
morels are a delectable treat. There
are many creative ways to cook and
eat morels and many ways to preserve
them for future use. Always be sure
to cook morels before eating them to
prevent illness.
Sulfur Shelf
The sulfur shelf, more commonly
known as chicken-of-the-woods, is
a mushroom that should be admired
for not only its flavor but its unique
beauty. It looks like something you
would find on a coral reef.
This large, fleshy fungi starts small
or fingerlike and soon becomes fan-
shaped with overlapping clusters
stacked on top of one another. Its
smooth to suede-like surface is often
uneven or wrinkled.
The sulphur shelf has no real stem
and its caps grow in large, individual
"shelves" ranging from two to 10
inches across and up to 10 inches long.
The caps have whitish to yellowish
The sulfur shelf, or chicken-of-the-woods, mushroom is easy to distinguish with its
bright colors and is a good mushroom for the beginner collector.
the Seasons
