Chapters 8.4
8.4- Morel mushrooms
Edison Young , University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Young,E. (2022) Mushrooms And Fungi. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/
Historical, Cultural, and Economic Background
Mushrooms and fungi have been historically available in many varieties of species, they were disregarded by some Indigenous communities in the past due to toxic species. Many mushrooms can be confused with others that appearance similar but sometimes contained toxic properties. Toxic mushrooms could leave the consumer with nausea, while other species would sometimes be fatal (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). While some mushrooms may contain toxic compounds, other also contains plenty of minerals and vitamins which are vital for our bodies. Morels are a highly valued species of fungi to those that recognize it, they are a genus of ascomycetes which have been used for centuries in traditional medicine (Ramya, et al., 2021). Today, chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and arthritis all affect many people’s lives every day. Many of these people endure treatment that can also cause other issues in our health; for instance, many cancer patients often go through stages of chemotherapy which is severely draining on the body. Patients who may have issues with arthritis are sometimes prescribed opioids that support the ongoing opioid epidemic. However, a much simpler treatment has been available for centuries, research has stated that morels can help in the treatment diabetes, arthritis, and cancer (Hussain & Sher, 2022). Many other benefits have been discovered along with many minerals and vitamins; this understanding is not an entirely new concept.
Associated Indigenous Communities
There is little documentation of the consumption of morels among Indigenous communities in Canada, however, it was found that the Lillooet, Halkomelem and Iroquois were some of the few who used these fungi in their culture (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). Although there may not be much documented use of these mushrooms in the Indigenous communities within Canada, they have been documented around the world. Morel mushrooms have been used in communities in China, India, and Australia these fungi have been a part of their culture for many years (Xu, Y., Tang, J., Wang, Y. et al. 2022). The use of the mushroom in traditional medicine is not unfamiliar as it has been documented in the Compendium of Materia Medica since the 16th century (Xu, Y., Tang, J., Wang, Y. et al. 2022).
A big concern arose from Indigenous communities, those who knew about the morel seasons on their land would forage on the Indigenous lands leaving behind live fires and plenty of litter (Barrera, 2018). In 2017 a large wildfire burned through 191,865 hectares of land; the first thing that chief Ryan Day of the Secwepemc nation thought was, "there are going to be hundreds of people coming onto our land" sure enough, there was (Barrera, 2018). In British Columbia, the Secwepemc nation went to the province to officialise permits for any pickers and foragers on their territory, with emphasis on morels (Barrera, 2018). According to Fawcett Atkinson, M. (2020), there has been more incidents of this as the Indigenous people want to be able to regulate their land to protect it. British Columbia has an extensive industry in forestry but also in many non-timber industries; from 1995-2005, the exports of chanterelle mushrooms from the region earned $3.5 million annually; similarly, from 2000-2003, an estimated $20 million worth of matsutake mushrooms were exported to Japan annually (Fawcett-Atkinson, M., 2020); this became another motive for the Indigenous to require permits to use their land. As morels became more sought after and harvested intensely, multiple Indigenous nations established necessary harvesting permits. Some include the Secwepemc nation, as previously stated, the Tsilhqot’in nation, the Skeetchestn’s, and the Ts’kw’aylaxw first nations (Fawcett-Atkinson, M., 2020). Earlier this year, the foraging of mushrooms on the Syilx's territory was also closed to the public's recreational use and foraging (Ministry of Forests, 2022).
Nutritional significance
Morel mushrooms have been used for centuries in traditional medicine to treat many ailments and dysfunctions (Tietel Z. and Masaphy S., 2017). These mushrooms have been studied and researched to find some of the phytochemicals responsible for the many linked health benefits; thus far the following phenolic compounds have been discovered: tocopherols, ascorbic acid, and carotenoids (Tietel Z. and Masaphy S., 2017). Mushrooms are also highly appreciated for their nutritional value, with high protein, fibre, and mineral levels; in particular, morels are some of the most nutritional mushrooms and are even considered functional foods (Tietel Z. and Masaphy S., 2017). There are multiple species of morels ,however, they generally contain the same nutritional values and do not differ too much. It was found that they contained approximately 7.5-11.52% protein, 2.2-3.9% fat, 6.7-14.6% ash (inorganic compounds such as minerals), and 74.55-80.4% carbohydrates (Tietel Z. and Masaphy S., 2017). Figure
Mushrooms are primarily composed of carbohydrates and are high in fibre among other nutrients; most of the polysaccharides are composed of mannose, a natural sugar found in fruits in vegetables this has been shown to help with UTI (Tietel Z. and Masaphy S., 2017). The many vitamins and minerals in these fantastic fungi have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor properties, among others. Thus, morels can be used to help as a natural medicine in treating chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and even arthritis (Ramya, et al., 2021).
Availability, Preparation, and Economic value
The consumer availability of morel mushrooms monitored in 2014 showed that many of the morel mushrooms in the marketplace are wild harvested mushrooms; the numbers indicated the annual production reports from India in 2014 was approximately 4624 kg of wild morel mushrooms (Hussain & Sher, 2022). These mushrooms provided them about USD 256,000 in revenue (Hussain & Sher, 2022). However, these yields are contested; in 2012, morels were first successfully commercially cultivated and reached yields of 15,000kg/ha (Xu, Y., Tang, J., Wang, Y. et al. 2022). However, yield margins are unstable and fluctuate due to the gap in morel cultivation and understanding of its biology as a species (Xu, Y., Tang, J., Wang, Y. et al. 2022). Another possible explanation for the inconsistent yields could also due to a biological factor, the flush of mushrooms produced decrease with each new cycle. Of the 4000-5000 harvesters, a majority were males (90%), indicating the morel market for harvesters is male dominated (Hussain & Sher, 2022). These values account for a small margin of this local morel market as the government lacks interest in this market and the public policies surrounding it (Hussain & Sher, 2022). While morels are a profitable industry due to their high price tag, the harvesters of these unusual fungi only receive approximately 25-30% of the total export value (Hussain & Sher, 2022).
True morels are a remarkable species of edible mushrooms due to their therapeutic and nutritional benefits. In addition, these mushrooms are rich and flavourful in various recipes. (Hussain & Sher, 2022).
Limitations
When gathering any mushrooms, background research on the species, foraging, and any toxic look-alikes in the area is necessary. For example, the Ministry of Forests (2022) states that when searching for wild Morels, foragers should be cautious of the morel look-alike the Gyromitra species; these mushrooms can cause consumer gastric distress. Another precaution is to avoid eating any morel mushrooms raw as they contain a toxin that can similarly cause gastrointestinal issues. This toxin deteriorates through the drying and cooking process of the mushroom (Ministry of Forests, 2022). Morels are a highly sought-after species of fungi and are challenging to locate if one is inexperienced in foraging, especially when searching for morels. If carefully harvested, the mushrooms may grow a second and even third colony (Ministry of Forests, 2022); therefore, it is essential to avoid damaging the mushroom's mycelium to encourage future growth when harvesting the fruit bodies. Overmatured mushrooms should be left to spread their reproductive spores (Ministry of Forests, 2022).
Commercial harvesting of morel mushrooms has begun to raise concerns for growing demands and lower annual yields per flush (Hussain & Sher, 2022). Compared to most other fields of agriculture, morel mushrooms are widely misunderstood concerning their biology, cultivation practices, and agricultural needs. Their cultivation began in 2012, and even after ten years of practice, their obtainable yields vary on average at 2,250-4,500 kg/ha; however, their highest yields have reached 15,000 kg/ha (Xu, Y., Tang, J., Wang, Y. et al. 2022). Mushroom picking is legal without a permit on provincial crown lands with its limitations. It is required to own a permit to forage mushrooms on any leased public lands, private lands, and First Nations reserve lands (Ministry of Forests, 2022). It is illegal to forage in provincial or national parks, conservation lands, federal lands, protected ecological reserves, and any closed areas for protective reasons (Ministry of Forests, 2022).
References
1.Hussain, S., & Sher, H. (2022, January 10). Indigenous ecological knowledge and wild harvesting of Morel mushrooms: The resource productivity and marketing in Swat, Pakistan - environment, development and Sustainability. SpringerLink. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02121-z
2.Ramya, H., Ravikumar, S. K., Fathimathu Z., et al. (2021, March 7). Morel mushroom, Morchella from Kashmir Himalaya: A potential source of therapeutically useful bioactives that possess free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory, and arthritic edema inhibiting activities. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1080/01480545.2021.1894750
3.Barrera, J. (2018, May 17). B.C. First Nations move to regulate lucrative Morel picking industry | CBC News. CBC news.
4.Ministry of Forests. (2022, May 5). Mushroom picking - Province of British Columbia.
5.Xu, Y., Tang, J., Wang, Y. et al. (2022, June 22). Large-scale commercial cultivation of morels: current state and perspectives. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 106, 4401–4412 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-022-12012-y
6.Tietel Z. and Masaphy S. (July 21, 2017). True morels (Morchella)—nutritional and phytochemical composition, health benefits and flavor: A review. Vol 58-issue 11, pages 1888-1901. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2017.1285269
7.Kuhnlein, H., & Turner, N. J. (2020). Traditional Plant Foods of Canadian Indigenous Peoples: Nutrition, Botany and Use (Routledge Revivals) (1st ed.). Routledge.
8.Fawcett-Atkinson, M. (2020). Who controls mushroom harvesting on Indigenous lands. Canada’s National Observer. Who controls mushroom harvesting on Indigenous lands? | Canada's National Observer: News & Analysis