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A much warmer winter, a much earlier season?


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I live in Pennsylvania and the entire Northeast of this country has had one of the warmest winters on record. Due to this I'm thinking of starting fungus finding a month earlier (early March instead of early April) and the current temperatures are the same now as they'd normally be a month later.

I want to know if anyone else is currently going out early and if things seem appeared as expected. Also if not I wouldn't mind spending an afternoon in the woods for the exercise and enjoyment even if I make no fungal finds.

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I think there may be some early Oyster Mushrooms. Another possibility is Auricularia americana, the North American "Tree Ear" mushroom. Also, Flammulina velutipes (Velvet Foot, Winter Mushroom) could appear during this predicted warm spell.

I wouldn't expect to see any morels before April. The earliest I have ever found a morel in PA was 2012, March 23. That was almost two weeks earlier than my next earliest morel find. March 2012 had 15 consecutive days in mid March with temp 60F or higher, 8 days with temp at least 70F, and many nights with lows in the 50Fs. So I don't see a repeat of this type of extreme weather.

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But, if we manage to avoid a spell of really cold weather following this projected warm spell, then I think the black morels may get an early start, with the first ones appearing maybe around the end of the first week in April. But this is a big "if", as early spring weather can be fickle. A bad set of conditions is when an early spell of warm temps gets the black morels ready to go, and then a subsequent spell of "hard freeze" weather shuts them down. I've seen this a few times. Also, frequent rainfall is essential when the weather turns warm early. If the wet spots dry up well in advance of the morels, fruitings tend to be small. But at least things look more promising than last year. 2015 was the year of meager morel production, especially with the black morels, mainly due to persistently chilly/cold nights. The ground temperature came up to right around 50, but a lack of calm sunny days and nighttime temps consistently dropping into the mid 30s caused the ground temps to keep dipping back into the 40s.

If you're simply interested in finding mushrooms to study/identify, then other types which may appear as a result of an early warm spell include: Tubaria furfuracea, Entoloma vernum, Agrocybe species, Pholiota veris, Exidia species, Psathyrella species, Coprinellus micaceus, Neofalvus alveolaris, Polyporus brumalis, Stropharia rugosoannulata (usually not appearing until May).

With the possible exception of Morchella (exact role in nature poorly understood), all of the mushrooms mentioned above are saprophytes. The earliest I have ever found a mycorrhizal species was a patch of Cortinarius (looked like C. croceus) found 5/21/11. Last year, the boletes actually got started in late May, which took me by surprise. When I found my first Boletus edulis last year on 6/14, some of them were already rotting!

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I remembered a few more early-season fungi.

This one I really need to mention. Galerina marginata is a deadly poisonous wood-inhabitor that is generally associated with autumn. But this species also occurs during spring, and also during winter thaws.

Gyromitra korfii is a fairly large "False Morel" that I have found in the past as early as mid-March. It seems to favor warm stretches of spring weather coming after a snowy winter.

Also, various "Cup Fungi" sometimes get started early... Peziza species, Disciotis venosa, Discina perlata are a few other early types.

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I once found a "False Morel" in mid-March though it's hard to identify which exact species. It looked mostly like Gyromitra esculanta except the cap was a lot less wrinkled. I wasn't going to post it in the Identification forums, but since it was brought up here:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was going to start this week (with today), but I looked at that map and saw my region is close (yet empty of) appearances. Though I don't specifically look for morels I'd gladly find them while looking for anything else and I know they are one of the earliest fungi to appear (from the ground) so they are a good starting point.

I'll begin fungi finding next week. I'll also keep watch of that map as I expect to see sightings in my area then.

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I don't expect any black morels in NE PA until maybe the end of the first week of April. It has turned chillier recently. This is probably a good thing. My best years for black morels have been ones when they first appeared around April 10 and then the weather suddenly turned much warmer. The two-week forecast calls for near normal temps but turning a little cooler toward the beginning of April and occasionally wet. Hopefully, there will be a warmup around April 7-10, and no extremely cold nights in the meantime. This could set us up for a good early-season morel year. BTW, I have read reports --and have spoken with people-- about good black morel spots SE of the Pocono Plateau, closer to Allentown maybe. The upland Pocono pine/hemlock/birch/maple woods are NOT noted for black morels (although it would not surprise me if a few white pine areas have some yellow morels... mush later, May). Look for south-facing open woods with springs/seeps and old-growth tulip poplar and/or white ash. Little patches of dry land near --but not in-- the wet areas are the types of spots where I also find blacks. Also, up along the south-facing ridges in these areas.

In the meantime, if you're just interested in finding a cool type of early-season mushroom, then some years Gyromitra korfii is found in a variety of types of forests here. Some years they start up as early as late March. Not recommended fro eating!

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Also, about 7-10 days before the black morels get going, I usually run across the first "Devil's Urns" (Urnula craterium) of the year. My best local black morel spots are also spots where this fungus is also usually found.

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Soil temps have been peaking (midday) at about 51F. So it should be getting close to black morel time. It's been pretty dry here the past week or so. We could use a good soaker.

Checked a couple early morel spots yesterday/today. No morels, but I found one Urnula craterium. So the morels aren't far off. Weather for this coming week is forecast to be... warm, then rain, then chilly for a day, then warm for three days with a couple additional chances for rain. If this pans out, then there should be some black morels by next Saturday.

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Extended forecast calls for a cold spell 4/3-4/5 with fairly chilly temps after that. Not good!! If it gets too cold during 4/3-4/9, then it may be another down year for black morels.

Another sign that it's almost time, hepatica flowers.

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