RE: [Mycology] Morels on Sycamore

[Jon Ellifritz]

It kind of depends what you mean by "on" your sycamore tree. Since you
mentioned morels, I'll assume you meant on the ground under the sycamore,
and I too have read that morels can be found under sycamores, possibly in a
mycorrhizal association. I asked David Arora many years ago if he thought
morels were mycorrhizal, and he said he thought they were "nonobligately"
so, i.e., they sometimes formed such associations but weren't dependent on
them. More recently we had a speaker (at the Mycological Association of
Washington, DC) who said that morels (just some species or all?) have two
different possible life cycles, one in which they're mycorrhizal and
another where they're saprophytic. In our area, morels seem to be
associated most with tulip poplars and ash trees, along with dying or dead
elms. Don't know whether these are mycorrhizal or the trees and mushrooms
like the same type of soil, or both.

The Smith and Weber book you asked about in your other e-mail is somewhat
old, and I don't have it, but I have their North American and Southern
ones, which are quite good. My favorite mushroom field guide is still Gary
Lincoff's 1981 one, in the Audubon field guide series. It has nationwide
coverage, although a bit of an Eastern bias. And both of David Arora's
books mentioned by another respondent are good, although Mushrooms
Demystified is a rather hefty tome! I believe there may even be some more
recent regional ones, covering specific parts of the West, like part of the
Rocky Mountains or the Pacific Northwest. Don't have any names handy, but
you could go through the mushroom book lists at Amazon or another online
bookseller. I'm not sure whether Paul Stamets lists any Western regional
mushroom books, but you can check with his company, Fungi Perfecti, which
is located in Washington state.

Jon

> [Original Message]
> From: Sdraeger <seth.d...@gmail.com>
> To: <bionet-...@moderators.isc.org>
> Date: 12/4/2008 12:35:29 PM
> Subject: [Mycology] Morels on Sycamore
>
> I have been trying to figure out what kind of mushroom would grow best
> on my sycamore tree, and I came across 1 mention of morels liking
> sycamores. Has anyone had any experience in this?
>
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[Sdraeger]

I was thinking of maybe getting a morel kit and trying to get it
growing underneath my sycamore tree. Do you think that is feasable?