Steve Peek wrote:
"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"David Farber" wrote:

Pat Kiewicz wrote:
David Farber said:


I found these mysterious things growing in my garden. The
internet says they're Morel mushrooms and they may be safe to
eat. I would definitely like a second opinion about that. I
found this webpage with some information about that.

And the photo of the ones in my garden is he
http://webpages.charter.net/mrfixite.../Mushrooms.jpg


Morels are the easiest mushroom to properly identify, and yes,
they can sometimes be found growing in a back yard. Your
mushrooms do, indeed,
look like edible morels, but a full ID would require looking at
the stem and cutting one in half.

True morels have hollow stems that connect directly to the cap.

False morels either do not have hollow stems or the cap hangs
down over
the stem.

Check out these links:

http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel.html
http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel2.html

A couple of years back we had a prolonged cool, wet spring and a
couple of dead or dying fruit trees in the back yard, which
resulted in a spectacular crop of extremely delicious morels.

Here is the mushroom sliced open.

http://webpages.charter.net/mrfixite...orel-slice.jpg

It looks like the good, hollow kind, right?

Thanks for your reply.

Don't be a fool. Take it to Cal Poly.



Don't be a fool, it's a clump of morels!!!!! I've been picking them
for over
40 years, I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE!!!!!

You'd bet his life on it? He is 18 min. from Cuesta College, and 25
min. from UC Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Seems a small price for an
expert's opinion, who would be in the presence of the mushroom,
rather than someone who is simply looking at a picture of it.

This isn't about your pride. Mushroom pickers die every year from
mistaken identity. Why shouldn't David avail himself of the very best
best advice?

Of course one should avail themselves of the best advise available,
always. There is ABSOLUTELY no other fungus that looks like that.
Some are close, but not like that. I've been picking them for over 40
years! Would you like to wager that I'm wrong? I can't bet my life on
it (I'm on the other coast) but I'll cover anything up to a million
or so (US, in cash of course).

I called Cal Poly. They didn't express an interest in investigating the
issue. They referred me to the local volunteer, master gardener program.
It's a program run by UC Davis. The volunteer told me to e-mail the picture
to them. I asked about bringing in a sample but I was told that they don't
do any scientific analysis.

Thanks for your reply.
--

David Farber
Los Osos, CA