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Missouri River Valley Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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Missouri River Valley

500–1,200 ft · MO🚗 Directions

S

Rich bottomland hardwoods along the Missouri River corridor. Cottonwood, elm, and ash dominate floodplains. Dead and dying elms are morel magnets. Easy access from Columbia and Jefferson City. Morels emerge early here due to low elevation and river-warmed soils.

Trees:Cottonwood American Elm Sycamore

Updated Jul 13, 4:06 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

# Missouri River Valley – S Tier | 2026-07-13 This is a perfect storm setup: sustained soil warmth at 74°F, consistent moisture (0.30 VWC) across a full two weeks, and zero drought stress. Every major species you hunt here is live right now—from choice edibles (Chicken of the Woods, Black Trumpets, Wine Caps, Parasols) to medicinals (Turkey Tail, Artist's Conk, Birch Polypore) to the weird stuff (stinkhorns, slime molds). There's no limiting factor preventing fruiting; the only watch is moderate desiccation risk creeping in over the next 7–10 days if rain gaps open up. The valley's lower elevation keeps soil temps stable and buffers against rapid moisture loss compared to higher zones. Prioritize wet microclimates—seeps, shaded ravines, rotting logs near water—to extend your window when conditions start to dry. **Hot tip:** Hit the Chicken of the Woods and Parasols hard today and tomorrow; they fruit aggressively in this heat-and-moisture sweet spot but are the first to abort once VWC drops below 0.25.

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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Nearby Camping

Within(3)

Pine Ridge Recreation Area

developed

USFS~5.1 mi from centerFee required/night

Mark Twain National Forest

Dry Fork Recreation Area

developed

USFS~7.1 mi from centerFee required/night

Mark Twain National Forest

Hart Creek Conservation Area

backcountry

~7.4 mi from center

⚠ Road Access Notice

Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.

Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

HIGHPrimed

Chicken of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Black Trumpet

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wine Cap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Giant Puffball

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Witch's Butter

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Bolete

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Indigo Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Crown-Tipped Coral

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly Ear

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dead Man's Fingers

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Parasol Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Shaggy Parasol

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Ring Champignon

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Artist's Conk

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Polypore

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Tinder Fungus

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Bird's Nest Fungus

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Cinnabar Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Berkeley's Polypore

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Capped Scaber Stalk

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Old Man of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Frost's Bolete

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Horse Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mica Cap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Two-Colored Bolete

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Smooth Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Caesar's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Weeping Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green-Gill Lepiota

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Bitter Bolete

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Cracked Russula

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Peppery Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Coker's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fool's Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Alcohol Inky

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Inkcap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Yellow-Stainer

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted Conk

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Thin-Walled Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mossy Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

False Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Northern Tooth

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Snow Fungus

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wood Ear

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Elfcup

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ivory Funnel

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Oyster

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wolf's Milk Slime

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dog Vomit Slime Mold

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fluted Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

King Alfred's Cakes

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dung Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Oak Mazegill

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ravenel's Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Elegant Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 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.