Foraging ahead ...

despite coming up empty handed.

May 06, 2025

It’s Morel Mushroom season. Social media is abundant with everyone’s bountiful harvests. Overflowing armloads of mushrooms lead to images of cast iron skillets boiling over with perfectly flour dusted caps and stems swimming in butter. Inspired by my friend

Chip Albright

’s Morel Mushroom song “I have walked these woods, I have hiked these hills, humming along, all day long,” but I still haven’t found my mess of mushrooms. I have found one. One Morel Mushroom, which has helped me fight the thoughts in my head that maybe I had a rare form of blindness that only applies to Morels. Or the idea that maybe I have a curse that forbids me from finding them because of some ancient family infraction on the universe. The discovery of one Morel Mushroom gives me hope to “forage ahead”.

While I have yet to find any more Morels, I have had some nice walks in the woods. I have found some other interesting fungi.

This is the weirdest thing I found. I identified it as some sort of tree anemone. Upon further research I believe it to be a type of Cedar Rust, which is a parasitic fungus. It is not edible.

Despite its appearance this is not called a “Smurf House”. It is however called a Witch’s Hat. Some guides label it as edible. Other guides label it as questionable or poisonous. I’m not taking any chances.

This is the Common Bonnet. While it is “generally considered edible” is not recommended to eat it because of its “rancid taste”. I’ll save that one for when things get really desperate.

This is called a Dryad’s Saddle or Pheasant Back Mushroom. It is edible, easily identifiable and has no poisonous look-alike mushrooms. I left it be this time but it is good to know I wouldn’t starve in the woods.

Okay, I am wrapping this post up somewhat prematurely because I want to get back out and look again today. I am not giving up.

Where is your favorite Morel hunting spot (specific coordinates only please)?

Thank you for reading The Racontourist. To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative.

Here are a few of my current favorites.

Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories

Maxwell Schaeffer: Maxwell’s Voice

Chip Albright: Chip Happens

David Thoreson: Northwest Passages

Phoebe Wall Howard: Shifting Gears, Detroit, MI

Peter Hedges: New York, NY

And not in the

Iowa Writers Collaborative Roundup

. My son Mitch Walsmith just launched a substack and I humbly request that you check it out.

Mitch Walsmith: Iowa City, IA

As well as my wife Emma’s new Substack