Each spring, people across the country search forest floors for elusive morel mushrooms.

This year, Chris Wright didn’t have to.

The Michigan mushroom researcher has adapted Chinese growing methods to become one of the first people to cultivate morels outdoors in the United States. He recently harvested a small patch of black morels he planted at a colleague's house in Haslett.

Wright, who is the executive director of Midwest American Mycological Information, previously worked on indoor morel cultivation at Michigan State University. He said he wanted see if there was a way to grow the sought-after mushrooms outdoors.

Most strains of morels are not capable of self-fertilization, because they only contain one of two mating types necessary to reproduce. Wright is using a strain of Morchella sextalata originally from China that can self-fertilize, which makes it easier to cultivate.

Wright also placed nutrient bags filled with grain and other nutrients where he planted his mushrooms to help increase productivity.

“This is the first reasonably reliable method for growing morels,” he said.

With further research and testing, Wright hopes to have Michigan farmers growing morels by 2021.

Morel cultivation isn't new

Scientists in China have studied morel cultivation for decades.

John Pecchia, a professor in plant pathology at Penn State University, traveled there in 2017 to attend the Chinese Morel Industry Conference and get a first-hand look at cultivation in the country.

Pecchia said morel cultivation has previously been conducted in the United States with limited and inconsistent results.

“The technique that (Wright is) using is definitely new to the U.S.," he said.

As part of a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant, Pecchia and a few collaborators are preparing to work on three years of cropping morel mushrooms in Pennsylvania and Maine.

Pecchia is interested in determining whether cultivating the mushrooms is economically viable. Whether the fungi are successful commercially depends on how productive the growing process is.

“A couple mushrooms per plot isn’t going to be a success in my mind," he said

And even if morels were to become a cash crop, that doesn't mean they'd suddenly become affordable, Pecchia said. On Amazon, a quarter pound of dried morels can go for more than $50.

“I think it would take a lot of production to impact price,” he said.

Morels are difficult to grow for a number of reasons, Pecchia said. Some strains of the mushroom are believed to be in symbiotic relationships with tree roots, for instance. It's also difficult to tell what environmental elements get the mushrooms into their final form, he said.

“We don't know a lot about what takes it from the vegetative stage to the mushroom itself," he said.

A profitable crop

In general, morel season in Michigan is short, spanning April and May. Morels are distinct with their long, tube-like stem topped by a hollow honeycomb cone. The mushrooms have a unique, nutty flavor sought after by foodies.

Morels are one of the few spring mushrooms. Most other edible mushrooms are found in the late summer to late fall.

Though morels can be found in every county in Michigan, it can sometimes be difficult to identify them. To help, Midwest American Mycological Information has developed a curriculum to train and certify foragers who commercially harvest and sell wild mushrooms in Michigan.

Jim Padden, the food safety program manager for Michigan's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said more than 600 people have taken the course. He urged people buying morels and other wild mushrooms to ensure their seller has taken the course.

Padden said Wright's work could make the morel mushroom even more popular than it already is.

“Ultimately, it could make morels more accessible to people," he said.

While not unheard of, it's rare for new crops to be introduced in the state, said Peter Anastor, director of MDARD's agricultural development division. Michigan is already the second-most diverse agriculture state in the country.

"There's a lot of pieces that have to come together to make (a new crop) successful," he said.

But don’t expect to pass by fields of morels any time soon. For now, Wright's experiment is limited to a handful of mushroom patches.

He hopes to secure grant funding to advance his research. He and some colleagues have submitted an application for a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant to further their work.

Wright said he hopes to bring morel mushrooms to market by 2021.

“I think we’ll have stuff reliable enough for folks to be able to grow a profitable crop," he said.

Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or hhansen@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @halehansen.