Bad ‘Shrooms – the Dark Underbelly of Morel Mushroom Hunting in Michigan

Right around Mother's Day, the hunt begins in my backyard - and all across Michigan, for morel mushrooms. But, if you don't know what you're looking for exactly - or you don't know how to cook them, you can get into trouble. (I usually take mine to my neighbor Dave - with some beer. Or I just drink his.)

According to Dr. Cynthia Aaron, medical director of the poison center in Detroit, "We are up to 15 morel or false morel ingestions," According to mlive.com, last year Michigan had 46 "morel-associated poisonings".

And it's not always the false morels causing the problems. Dr. Aaron says some of the problems are caused by people who eat real morels when they're raw or under-cooked, "occasionally with alcohol".

Hmm - what a surprise. BTW - "Bad 'Shrooms" would be a great name for a band.

Here's the story.

Banana Don and Stephanie McCoy amuse and thrill you every weekday morning from 5:30 – 10AM on the radio at 100.7 WITL.

Banana Don can be reached via email at don.jefferson@townsquaremedia.com and on Twitter at @WITLBananaDon and @WITLFM. Also, Facebook friend Banana Don and Stephanie at Facebook.com/BananaStephanie and Facebook.com/WITLFM.