While exploring a hill between Stake Lake and McConnell Lake in June, I came across a hillside of false morels. They are fairly easy to identify. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Mushroom hunters have sometimes mistakenly collected false morels, but unfortunately, they are poisonous. The active ingredient is monmethylhydrazine, and reactions vary from no visible effect to death, but some research also points to long-term health problems either way, so it should not be eaten.

There are several varieties, but in our area, the most commonly sighted one is ggyromitra esculenta, sometimes called the beefsteak morel. They appear as a wrinkled brownish cap and a yellow-white stem, but turn blacker with age.

If you go out to collect morels, get to know the difference. On a hiking day, we saw both on the same trail in Wells Gray.