Himalayan Morchella

Known as thunthu in our local language, Morchella is a species of fungus which grow during the start of the spring season in some high altitude areas.

Morchella has a honeycomb like structure and they can grow up to 15cm in length. They grow in the moist environment and most probably after the rains. One can find them under the hedges, rotten leaves and in grass.

Morchella has a high medicinal value and hence have a high demand in the market. Collecting them serve as a source of income to some poor families in the villages. But things doesn’t always go right. Last year a young girl had an encounter with the bear in the wild while she was collecting thunthu and she lost her life.

Morchella are edible too and they taste like mushrooms but it is not easy to find so many of them for a good dinner.

I remember when i was a child, we use to go into the nearby forests to find thunthu. Children today are very much busy studying but we had much fun during our days.