Morel finds here in Huntingdon County seemed to dry up along with the rain for the past week or so. But the recent rain produced the first small but fresh yellow morel of the season for me yesterday. Time to renew the search.
While waiting for the rain, I have been doing some trout fishing and came across a rather striking fruiting of the Pheasant Wing or Dryad Saddle mushroom, Polyporus squamosus. See attached photo. This is a fairly common spring find, usually found on logs, stumps, or standing dead wood. This cluster was growing on a half-dead tree. I believe it was an ash, please correct me if anyone knows better. This was the largest single colony of this mushroom I have ever encountered, measuring some two feet or more across. And there were two other clusters growing on the same tree. It certainly made a striking visual image and I was delighted to see it. I found a smaller version the next day while out hunting morels. This mushroom is one of the "consolation prize" finds you might come across while hunting unsuccessfully for the elusive morel. It's not a tasty morel, but it offers some reward for your efforts. See Bill Russell's fine book or most any field guide for additional details.
Here's a link to another large find two years ago.
https://www.centralpamushroomclub.org/node/186
Dave
