When: 2008-04-13
Collection location: Tulsa County OK [Search]
Who: Dave (vertical)
No herbarium specimen

Notes: Habit: found in a highly disturbed area. Fruitings were observed in an area that had been what appeared to be a controlled burn of approximately 3-5 acres. This burn had partially consumed some large hardwood trees that were alive. Now they are dead and dying. There was a lot of downed lake flotsum timber in the area that was also burned. The burn appeared to be done in 2007 In my opinion. Since then, lake levels had obviously encroached and receeded upon the fruiting regions. I have consumed mushrooms that are macroscopically identical to these but were from the Rocky Mountains. That was prior to my learning of the cumulative poisoning effects of the gyromitrans contained in the flesh of this entity.

Proposed Names:   Propose Another Name

Proposed Name		User		Community Vote
Gyromitra esculenta (Pers.) Fr.		vertical		22% (3)
Recognized by sight: Identical in appearance to ones I have found in the Rocky Mountains Used references: Historical identification made by me many years ago based upon Audobon Field Guide.
Gyromitra caroliniana		darv		92% (3)
Recognized by sight: Bright white stalk and thick in size.

Please login to propose your own names and vote on existing names.

= Observer’s choice

= Current consensus

Comments:   Add Comment

Created: 2008-04-14 07:08:06 By: debbie viess (amanitarita) Summary: Gyromitra caroliniana Good treatment of this mushroom in Kuo’s “Morels” book. Cap is tightly attached to the stipe; when sliced in half, resembles a stalk of broccoli! As Darv points out, esculenta has a tan or pinkish stipe, never pure white (atho the white stipe of caroliniana can bruise brown). Gyromitra caroliniana appears to lack detectable amounts of hydrazines and MAY be a safe edible. This is not the case for the seriously toxic G. esculenta. Nancy Smith Weber, in “A Morel Hunter’s Companion,” reports that Ken Cochran, former NAMA toxicology chair, tested G. caroliniana for hydrazines (MMH) and found them lacking. Whether this is true for all members of this species in all areas is unknown, as is the number of specimens that were tested.

Observation Created: Sun Apr 13 06:31:18 -0700 2008
Last Modified: Sun Apr 13 07:57:03 -0700 2008 by Dave (vertical)
Viewed: 4 times, last viewed: Mon Nov 10 08:33:09 -0800 2008
Show Log