(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-PLMSBWP');     (function(a,b,c,d){     a='//tags.tiqcdn.com/utag/thunder/goldenstate/prod/utag.js';     b=document;c='script';d=b.createElement(c);d.src=a;d.type='text/java'+c;d.async=true;     a=b.getElementsByTagName(c)[0];a.parentNode.insertBefore(d,a);     })();
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=172847629912656"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Like a Fungi Phoenix, Morel Mushrooms Rise From the Ashes

The bumper crop is a welcome, if bittersweet, byproduct of last year’s devastating fires.

In the ashes of coniferous trees devastated by the fires of late 2017, the precious and tasty Morel mushroom springs forward in abundance. California chefs and fungi fanatics are foraging the delicious little wonders in quantities not seen in years.

According to Eater San Francisco, “Morels, whose scientific name is Morchella, are so highly valued because they’re foraged, not farmed: Their symbiotic relationship with trees is tough to replicate on a commercial scale. As to why they fruit after fires, Kabir Peay, an assistant professor of biology at Stanford, calls that phenomenon “a little bit of a mycological mystery.”

“Fungi will often reproduce either when things are really good, or really bad,” says Peay. “In a lot of cases when their resources are all used up, they’ll create new mushrooms to move on… to find new resources to eat.”

Read more about the Morels’ amazing year and where to find them here.

More Stories
Homes + Spaces

Reinventing Space for Simple Living

Actors Corbin Bernsen and Amanda Pays reflect on their projects in their first book, Open House: Reinventing Space for Simple Living

Arts + Culture, Hidden Gems, Homes + Spaces, Sights + Stays, Time Capsule

This Haunted Mansion Provides a Window to the Pomona Valley’s History

Once the community centerpiece, a Pomona home and its original town are largely forgotten.