April 2023 was a month of the false morel known as Verpa. These are among the first of the mushrooms to show up in the spring. They begin fruiting with cottonwoods at low elevations and then move into the foothills as the season progresses.
— Learn more about Verpa bohemica here —
Apr 1-2
My first day out was Apr 1 near Lake Washington. I think we hit it just right for that particular place
Apr 14-16
Next we headed to SW Washington hoping to make it far enough south to spot riparian morels. We didn’t get there however I did find my first verpa conica. Notice the diffference in cap texture between V bohemica (first) compared to V conica (second)
Saturday was beautiful and Sunday was cold and wet. We spotted lots of life beyond mushrooms and had a chance to explore forests along the Lewis River near Vancouver.
Apr 22
On Saturday we stayed a little closer to Seattle and stuck to a lowland river valley. Blackberry brambles were common near every area we explored this month. It seemed that we missed the verpa peak by a couple of weeks but we still had a really fun day.
Next week we’re going to go searching along a new river within 1-2 hours of Seattle. Check the Calendar for details.
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