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Cross Timbers / LBJ National Grassland Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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Cross Timbers / LBJ National Grassland

700–1,200 ft · TX🚗 Directions

A

The eastern Cross Timbers — a belt of post oak and blackjack oak savanna threading through north-central Texas just west of the DFW metroplex. LBJ and Caddo National Grasslands give the largest public access, with sandy upland oak woods and shaded creek bottoms (cedar elm, pecan, hackberry). Spring morels appear in dying-elm and pecan flats along the West Fork Trinity; chanterelles and chicken-of-the-woods follow summer thunderstorms. Golden Teacher (Psilocybe cubensis) fruits from cattle dung in the surrounding pastures after warm rains.

Updated Aug 1, 4:25 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Cross Timbers / LBJ National Grassland – Tier A Analysis** You're sitting in a rare convergence: sustained soil heat (93°F) paired with stable volumetric water content (0.19 VWC sustained over 7 days) creates the perfect friction zone for fruiting. The Tier A rating reflects the fact that 57 species are viable simultaneously—an embarrassment of riches driven by that moisture trigger holding despite zero rain in the last week. The limiting factor is real but not crippling: desiccation risk remains elevated due to the zero-precip window, meaning fruiting bodies will abort or shrivel if you miss the window. Focus on species that fruit in quick, dense flushes: *Chicken of the Woods* and *Oyster* will dominate woody substrate; *Chanterelles* and *Smooth Chanterelles* will pop in grassland edges where soil stays sheltered. The *Aspen Bolete*, *Indigo Milk Cap*, and *Two-Colored Bolete* guild will be active in nearby wooded transition zones. Polypores and gelatinous decay fungi (*Jelly Ear*, *Wood Ear*, *Witch's Butter*) are your insurance—they're already fruiting and won't abort. Watch the next 48 hours obsessively: if you get even 0.1" of rain, this becomes a frenzy window. If the heat climbs another 2–3 degrees without moisture input, VWC will tank and you'll see a hard stop around day 10. **Hot tip:** Hit the decomposing deadfall for *Chicken of the Woods* at first light—it fruits hardest in the cool hours and aborts by afternoon heat; get in, harvest,

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 Potential75/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

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Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

HIGHPrimed

Oyster Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Chicken of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wine Cap

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Giant Puffball

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Witch's Butter

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Bolete

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Indigo Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Crown-Tipped Coral

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly Ear

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dead Man's Fingers

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Parasol Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Shaggy Parasol

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Ring Champignon

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Artist's Conk

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Polypore

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Tinder Fungus

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Bird's Nest Fungus

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Cinnabar Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Berkeley's Polypore

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Capped Scaber Stalk

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Old Man of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Frost's Bolete

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Horse Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mica Cap

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Two-Colored Bolete

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Smooth Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Caesar's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Weeping Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green-Gill Lepiota

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Bitter Bolete

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Cracked Russula

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Peppery Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Coker's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fool's Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Alcohol Inky

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Inkcap

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Yellow-Stainer

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted Conk

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Thin-Walled Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mossy Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

False Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Northern Tooth

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Snow Fungus

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wood Ear

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Elfcup

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ivory Funnel

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Oyster

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wolf's Milk Slime

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dog Vomit Slime Mold

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fluted Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

King Alfred's Cakes

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dung Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Oak Mazegill

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Common Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ravenel's Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dune Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Elegant Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Lantern Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Banded Mottlegill

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Golden Teacher

All conditions met (soil 93°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.19 VWC, 7d avg 0.19 — 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.