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Mon NF South / Cranberry Wilderness Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

Mon NF South / Cranberry Wilderness

Cranberry Wilderness and the southern Monongahela NF — high-elevation red spruce-fir forest above 4,000ft transitioning down to northern hardwoods, then into mixed mesophytic coves below 3,000ft. Cranberry Glades botanical area (a southern outpost of boreal bog), Williams River, Highland Scenic Highway. Splits the huge Mon NF region for forecast resolution. Late-season spring morels (mid-May into June at high elevation); chanterelles, lobster, hedgehog, and king bolete in summer/fall; matsutake-like Tricholoma magnivelare candidates in spruce-hemlock duff.

Trees:Red Spruce American Beech Sugar Maple

Updated Jul 13, 4:21 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Mon NF South / Cranberry Wilderness – S Tier Flash Flush** This region is firing on all cylinders: 62°F soil sustained across 6–7 days, 0.33 VWC moisture locked in, and no drought stress. That's your S-tier signal. The roster is genuinely massive—you're looking at 65+ viable species spanning choice edibles (Chicken of the Woods, Wine Cap, Aspen Bolete, Smooth Chanterelle), medicinals (Reishi, Turkey Tail, Artist's Conk), and the weird/experimental lane (stinkhorns, slime molds). Black Trumpet is the only moderate outlier; mycelium is activating but primordia haven't pushed yet—give it 2–3 more days at this warmth. No limiting factors. This is a convergence flush—everything that wanted to fruit is fruiting or about to. Watch the next 72 hours for peak fruiting window before July heat potential kicks in. Moisture is the only thing keeping this alive; if you see soil VWC drop below 0.25, the window closes fast. **Hot tip:** Hit the aspen stands and mixed conifers before noon—Wine Caps and Smooth Chanterelles will peak and start oxidizing hard in afternoon heat at this elevation.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.

Foraging Potential95/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

HIGHPrimed

Chicken of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 5/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

MODERATEActivating

Black Trumpet

soil warming up (62°F today, only 4/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained

HIGHPrimed

Wine Cap

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Giant Puffball

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Reishi

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Witch's Butter

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Bolete

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Indigo Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Crown-Tipped Coral

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly Ear

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Panther Cap

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dead Man's Fingers

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Parasol Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Shaggy Parasol

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Ring Champignon

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Artist's Conk

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Polypore

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Tinder Fungus

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Bird's Nest Fungus

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Cinnabar Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Berkeley's Polypore

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Capped Scaber Stalk

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Old Man of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Frost's Bolete

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Horse Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mica Cap

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Two-Colored Bolete

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Smooth Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Caesar's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

The Prince

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Weeping Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green-Gill Lepiota

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Bitter Bolete

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Chicken-Fat Bolete

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

The Sickener

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Cracked Russula

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Peppery Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Coker's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fool's Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Alcohol Inky

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Inkcap

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Yellow-Stainer

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted Conk

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Thin-Walled Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mossy Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

False Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Northern Tooth

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Snow Fungus

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wood Ear

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Elfcup

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ivory Funnel

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Oyster

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wolf's Milk Slime

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dog Vomit Slime Mold

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fluted Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

King Alfred's Cakes

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Scaly Wood Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dung Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Oak Mazegill

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ovoid-Spore Psilocybe

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Blue-Foot Psilocybe

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ravenel's Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 5/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Elegant Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 5/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Lantern Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 62°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.33 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

Primordia readiness: Cold = mycelium dormant. Activating = soil warming, primordia building. Primed = 5+ sustained warm days at species threshold; fruiting imminent if moisture cooperates. Based on Schmidt 1983 / Mihail 2007.