Where and when can you find morels in the UK?

We'd all love to know precisely where and exactly when to find morels. 

In fact, it would be really nice if someone set up some kind of morel-finding app, so as soon as they appeared in your area, you'd get a text with specific location... a kind of X marks the spot.

But, alas! That is never going to happen.

Morels are notoriously elusive. That gives them their mystique and, if truth be told, makes us want them even more. It makes it even more special when you do find them.

The following is the best advice I can give for finding morels in the UK:

Morel (morchella esculenta)

When to look: spring – from the end of March to mid-May

Where to look: among herbs and grass in forests, where fires have occurred and on bark chippings and mulch beds in shrubberies and gardens

Semifree morel (mitrophora semilibera)

When to look: early spring – first few weeks of April

Where to look: in dense grass in woodlands and along paths in damp places

That's it! That's as much of a clue as you're getting. You really do need a lot of perseverance and a huge dash of luck to find these beauties.

If you do find them, well done and enjoy! I’d love to hear your story of how you found them, how long you’d been looking and what you did with them.

And it goes without saying, never ask a forager where they found their treasure.

Want to know more?

You might be interested in: what is a morel mushroom?

You might want to know more: how to identify morel mushrooms

How to identify morel mushrooms

There are two types of edible morel that you are likely to find in the UK – the morel (morchella esculenta) or semifree morel (mitrophora semilibera).

The morel (morchella esculenta)

morel mushroom

Cap: light brown-grey honeycomb-like, pitted head. Younger caps are darker than mature ones

Stem: pale yellow, with a mealy surface

Inside: when cut in half, the interior of a morel is hallow

Size: they vary in size, and the cap can grow from around 5cm-20cm

Spore print: cream to pale brown 

The semifree morel (mitrophora semilibera)

semifree morel mushroom

Cap: dark grey-brown cap, thinner flesh and a free cap rim (not attached)

Stem: a longer, paler stem than the morel

Inside: hallow

Size: smaller than the morel, with a cap growing to between 1cm-4cm

Spore print: cream

Warning

Do be aware that there is one deadly poisonous type of mushroom that can be confused with the morel – it is called the false morel (gyromitra esculenta), or sometimes the beefsteak morel.

Also, morels and semifree morels are (reportedly) delicious, but never eat them raw.

Want to know more: what is a morel mushroom?

What is a morel mushroom?



Common morel mushroom



For some people, spring means daffodils, longer days and daring to go out without an all-in-one body suit to protect against the cold.

But for the mushroom hunter, it means one thing, and one thing only: morels.

Morels are the holy grail of the wild mushroom world – they are a rare and distinctive variety of fungi, with their pitted, irregular honeycomb crowns and hallow hearts. They are beautiful and elusive.

Lady luck

For those who have been lucky enough to find them, I congratulate you (and envy you deeply)!

For three seasons now, I have been unable to walk (or cycle) past a bed of woodchip – heaving with the potential for spring-time morels – without slowing to a conspicuous halt, scanning the ground, trying not to attract attention.

I've spent afternoons in the woods, eyes trained on the ground.
I have searched in wood and bark chippings in my garden and my local park, by the edges of car parks, and by the side of the road – in all sorts of urban settings, after all, the rumour goes that morels are decidedly urban. 

But never once have I been lucky enough to see a gleaming morel (morchella esculenta) or semifree morel (mitrophora semilibera), there before my eyes like a mushroom mirage. But that doesn’t stop me looking.

Success

I’ve heard that people have had success finding morels in Leeds – Mina Allsopp, for example, has unwittingly taunted me with her facebook posts about the huge batch she found at an undisclosed location – the pictures made my heart race.

Of course I was thrilled for her, too – it was the first time she had found morels, and she has years of fungi-related experience on me. Her streak of luck gives me hope! 

Warning

Do be aware that there is one deadly poisonous type of mushroom that can be confused with the morel – it is called the false morel (gyromitra esculenta), or sometimes the beefsteak morel. It is deadly poisonous.

It has a very similar appearance to edible ones, with a dark brown head and pale stem, but the ridges on the cap are folded rather than pitted (see above image).

Also, morels and semifree morels are (reportedly) delicious, but never eat them raw. 

Want to know more: how to identify morel mushrooms