Makers and Mushrooms
This week we explore the fascinating world of fungi!
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Mushroom Hunting
It’s springtime in the Rockies and that means it is morel season!
If you’re wondering, “what the heck is a morel?” Let me enlighten you — this is a morel (three, actually):
What’s the Deal with Morels?
Morels have a special status in the mushroom hunting world. They’re the “choicest of the choice mushrooms” and from what I’ve gathered, no other variety compares. Here’s why:
Morels taste really, really good. They have a mild umami flavor that is earthy and nutty along with a not-so-mushy texture. Even people who generally aren’t fans of mushrooms enjoy morels because of their superior taste and texture.
They add earthiness to dishes and go well with hearty meals. A few really easy ways to cook with morels are:
Battered in flour and fried in butter
Sauteed then served with steak and potatoes
Chopped, sauteed, and stirred into a tomato or cream-based pasta sauces
They’re worth big bucks. Until recently, morels have been impossible to farm (more on that below) meaning that to enjoy these guys you have to forage every spring or pay hefty prices at farmers’ markets. While prices fluctuate, I’ve heard they sell directly to chefs for approximately $100 per pound.
How to Start Foraging
Morel hunting isn’t complicated (although it’s harder than it looks) — If you have no qualms about trudging in the woods off trail, mushroom hunting is totally within reach.
There isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy for finding these elusive shrooms, but here are a few starter tips for morel hunting:
Morels are found in most areas of the US during the height of spring. Obviously, the timing varies – for your location that could be in April or if you’re like me and are living in the Colorado Rockies at elevation, that time is a bit later.
Soil and Environmental Considerations: As expected, mushrooms thrive on moisture and warmer spring temps so you’ll find them after the first rain and when the nights start to warm up (no colder than 40 degrees F at night). They also grow in loamy soil and soil containing more calcium or lime.
Morels thrive in areas of disturbed land. My success this season has been in burn areas, and I’m not alone here — the recent California burns are creating a mushroom gold rush this spring. They also pop up on tracts of land with down trees or water erosion.
Check near tree roots. The very first morel I’ve ever found was growing under a tree root and it was about the size of my palm – the biggest find of the day. Turns out I was onto something — morels are mycorrhizal which means they form mutualistic relationships with the roots of trees.
Morels don’t typically grow alone. - As you wander through the woods with your nose to the ground, you’ll go hours without finding a single shroom, but once you find a morel, sit down and look around. You could find a handful more in the immediate area.
Is Morel Farming on the Horizon?
As I said, morels have always been found in the wild, but researchers and entrepreneurs are striving to commercialize the crop. Here are a couple of really good reads if you’re always thinking ahead:
Brothers in Denmark recently invented a method to grow morels in a climate-controlled environment.
A Colorado cultivator is trying to farm morels. Read about his experience HERE.
Go Forth and Forage
Mushroom hunting is a great excuse to wander around the woods after work, but it does require some background knowledge. Make sure you are confident in your identification skills before heading out into the woods — misidentified mushrooms can make you seriously ill or worse.
The best way to get started is to go out with an established mushroom hunting friend. However, if you don’t know anyone involved, here are some beginner-friendly resources:
Read a topical article about morel hunting here
Find your State’s Mycological Society here
Dig deeper by joining the Morel Hunting Reddit Community here.
The Mushroom x Art Connection: Mushroom Dyeing
Mushrooms are certainly influential in the visual arts world as a popular subject matter, but they also serve an unconventional yet very utilitarian purpose for makers:
Mushrooms are used as dyeing agents and have created entirely new art mediums.
Mushrooms for Natural Fiber Dyeing
Each mushroom variety has a different pigment and therefore creates a different colorway. The pigment is used to dye natural fibers. With at least 11,000 named varieties in North America alone, the color options are vast.
Using mushrooms for their dyeing properties in natural fibers is a relatively new innovation, coming on the scene in just the last few decades (more on that below).
What exactly is mushroom dyeing?
Here’s an oversimplified summary of the dyeing process: chop up mushrooms, boil them in water, then steep natural fibers (wool, mohair, silk, etc.) in the mushroom water for approximately 1 hour to dye the fiber a specific color.
Each mushroom variety contains different pigments and dyes the fiber a different color. Here’s a whole array of mushroom-dyed yarn:
The Discovery: Miriam’s Story
Californian artist Miriam C. Rice discovered and popularized mushroom dyeing in 1968 and eventually became a leading authority on the subject.
Miriam discovered the new dyeing process in true “accidental discovery” fashion:
“Miriam was teaching children about natural dyes in the children’s art classes at the Mendocino Art Center when she began experimenting with natural dyes to make inks for her own block prints. During that time, encouraged by local mushroom-hunting friends, she was invited to go on a mushroom foray, led by the late eminent mycologist, Dr. Harry Thiers, to learn about the identification of local mushroom species.
Shortly thereafter, always eager to combine the best possibilities of both worlds, Miriam took a clump of sulphur yellow Naematoloma fasciculare mushrooms and tossed them into a dye pot with a bit of wool yarn. Fortunately (for all of us), this action resulted in a clear bright lemon yellow dye and voilá “mushroom dyeing” was born!” Mushrooms for Color
Following the discovery, Miriam started experimenting with every mushroom variety she could find, recording which species were usable and what colors they produced.
For a closer look at Miriam’s work, here’s a two-minute, short-and-sweet video:
Miriam’s Success
Miriam truly led the way in using mushrooms for their dyeing properties. With her diligent research and record-keeping, she published books on the matter and eventually generated worldwide interest among fiber artists.
Miriam also spearheaded two initiatives in this field which are still functioning today:
More of Miriam’s Genius
Miriam didn’t stop with fiber dyeing. She also invented a few more uses for mushrooms:
Papermaking: Miriam recycled the “fungal residue” from the fiber dyeing process to create paper.
Watercolor Paints: Again, she used many of the fiber-dyeing mushrooms to create paint
Myco-Stix™: One more Miriam invention — this is a drawing medium (similar to crayons) that uses pigments extracted from fungi combined and the “binder” ingredients used in crayons
Current Innovations in Mushroom Dyes
For a much more current look at mushroom dyeing, check out the Mushroom Color Atlas. This is a current effort created by artist Julie Beeler to document and categorize the astounding variety of colors that mushrooms create.
The atlas is an interactive site — click on a tile to learn more about the color and which mushroom species created it.
Action Steps: Get Involved + Some Really Cool Links
If you’re absolutely fascinated by mushrooms after reading this, here are a few ways you can learn more and get involved:
Enter the North American Mycological Association’s 2022 Visual Arts Contest — yep, it’s all based on mushroom-related art!
19th International Fungi & Fiber Symposium takes place this October in Washington State
Follow the Mushroom Color Atlas on Instagram to receive almost-daily mushroom color updates
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