The base of elm trees, West said, are often compared to "dinosaur feet," as the base seems to spread out as one with the ground. The reason why morels are popularly found around elm trees is ...

Just because morels thrive in low, moist areas doesn't mean these are the only places to find them. Morels tend to have a "mind of their own," Skalicky said, so keep your eyes out for them no ...

Dying elms also create a prime environment for morel growth – temporarily. “When the elm tree that these mushrooms are living with dies, the fungus actually senses that,” Snyder explained.

In the Midwest, morels are typically found with elms or, less often, ash trees, but the type of tree can vary by region, Snyder said. “Some people swear by cottonwoods and sycamores,” he said.

The fungus that produces morels thrive from decaying plant material so dead or dying trees, particularly elm trees, are good places to look.

Generally, morels grow in forests, particularly hardwood forests, according to Zirpoli. They tend to prefer sandy soil near ash, aspen, oak and elm trees — dead or dying elms, in particular.

Not all dead elm trees hosted morels, of course, but those that did sometimes yielded profusions, and those big strikes made you think you knew something about mushroom hunting.

Some elm trees die and never produce mushrooms. Of the two common elm species, red (slippery) and white (American), white elms typically have more morels, by far, than red elms.

Morel mushrooms are popping up through leaf litter wherever trees grow and die, especially under dead elm trees where morel spores seem to prefer. The bark from a dead elm tree seemed to be an ...

The base of elm trees, West said, are often compared to "dinosaur feet," as the base seems to spread out as one with the ground. The reason why morels are popularly found around elm trees is ...

Dying elms also create a prime environment for morel growth – temporarily. “When the elm tree that these mushrooms are living with dies, the fungus actually senses that,” Snyder explained.

Dying elms also create a prime environment for morel growth – temporarily. “When the elm tree that these mushrooms are living with dies, the fungus actually senses that,” Snyder explained.