Morels, Truffles and other Spring Mushrooms
by Michael W. Beug Email: beugm@evergreen.edu
The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA
Slide 12.
Gyromitra montana is known as the Walnut or Snow-Mushroom. It has been listed in many books as Gyromitra gigas but Gyromitra gigas is a European species . Gyromitra montana fruits in the mountains and colder parts of western North America right after the snow melts, often right at the edge of melting snow banks. It is edible and prized when cooked. There are many highly similar Gyromitra species, especially in the South. Some of these are poisonous. If harvesting for the table, stick to the snow bank regions of the western mountains. Many Gyromitra species are known to contain Gyromitrain, a thermolabile toxin that can be lethal, so I recommend not eating any Gyromitra species, even Gyromitra montana.
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