Timo Mendez wrote this article. He is a freelance writer and amateur mycologist who has collected wild mushrooms all over the world.
Lobster mushrooms are undoubtedly one of my favorite mushrooms. They are as beautiful as they are delicious and as fascinating as they are mysterious.
I love their fragrant seafood taste so much; it works so well in so many recipes that it’s making me hungry just writing about it. Plus, don’t get me started on their gorgeous color. It goes from a beautiful orange, like an ember on fire, to the bright red of the freshly cooked sea creature that gave it its name.
Not to mention, for geeks like me, they have a mind-boggling ecology that adds to their charm. For beginner foragers, they’re also great because of how easy and unmistakable they are to identify.
Some people are put off by their strange growth and bright colors, but don’t be! They are an important plant forager to know about!
Where to Find the Delicious Lobster Mushroom
By John Doe
As an amateur mycologist and forager, I’m always on the hunt for new and exciting mushroom varieties. One of my absolute favorites is the lobster mushroom. With its bright red-orange coloring and mild, seafood-like flavor, it’s easy to see why the lobster mushroom is so highly sought after.
In this article, I’ll share everything you need to know about finding lobster mushrooms in the wild. We’ll cover when and where they grow, tips for identification, and lookalike species to watch out for. Let’s dive in!
An Introduction to the Lobster Mushroom
The lobster mushroom gets its name from its resemblance to a cooked lobster tail. Scientifically known as Hypomyces lactifluorum, this fungus is actually not a true mushroom at all. It’s a parasite that infects other mushroom species, transforming their appearance and flavor dramatically.
Common host mushrooms include Russula and Lactarius species. When parasitized their normally pale coloration becomes a vivid red-orange with white markings. The texture also changes from brittle to firm and dense. Flavor-wise, they develop a seafood essence with mild sweetness.
Lobster mushrooms pop up in late summer and fall across North America. From the Pacific Northwest to New England mushroom hunters eagerly await lobster season. Keep reading to learn exactly when and where to find them near you.
When is Lobster Mushroom Season?
Timing is everything when it comes to foraging wild mushrooms. With lobster mushrooms, you typically have just a short window of a few months to search for them. Here are the peak seasons based on region:
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Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, British Columbia): August – early November
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California: September – November
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Rocky Mountains (Idaho, Montana, Colorado): July – September
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Midwest and Great Lakes (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan): August – September
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New England (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine): August – October
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Eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec): August – October
As you can see, late summer through early fall is prime lobster mushroom time across most of North America. Be sure to note the specific target months for your location. If you time it right, you’re likely to find a bountiful harvest.
Where to Find Lobster Mushrooms Growing in the Wild
Lobster mushrooms thrive in damp, shaded forests throughout their range. Specific tree associations vary, but you’ll often find them under conifers or hardwoods like pine, spruce, fir, oak and poplar. The ideal habitat has plenty of leaf litter and downed logs.
Here are some of the top lobster mushroom hotspots to explore:
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Low elevation conifer forests along the Pacific Coast
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Mixed woods near the Great Lakes
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Hardwood stands in New England
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Lodgepole pine forests in the Rockies
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Northern oak woodlands
Focus your foraging efforts near the base of trees and logs. Carefully peel back the top layers of leaves, needles and debris. Lobsters often start growing underground before emerging.
Since they tend to grow in clusters, finding one mushroom likely means more are nearby. Move slowly and scan the forest floor thoroughly. Mushrooms of all sizes and maturation stages may be intermingled.
Tips for Identifying Lobster Mushrooms
Lobster mushrooms stand out vividly from their surroundings. Look for these telltale features when foraging:
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Bright red-orange color, possibly with white spots
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Firm, dense feel (not brittle)
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Smooth underside without true gills
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Distinct seafood odor, especially in older specimens
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Growing singly or in groups under trees
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Size ranging from 2 inches to over 1 foot across
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Irregular lumpy or convoluted cap shape
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Hollow stem base
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Solid white inner flesh
Double check your finds by examining the characteristics. An edibility test is also recommended when you’re just starting out. Cook a small portion thoroughly and taste a tiny bite to be safe.
Potential Lobster Mushroom Lookalikes
While lobster mushrooms are quite distinct, a few lookalikes do exist. Here are a some species that could potentially cause confusion:
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Jack O’Lantern (Omphalotus illudens) – poisonous; grows in large clusters on wood; true gills; brighter orange
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Chanterelle (Cantharellus species) – edible; vase-like ridges instead of gills; softer flesh; paler color
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Red Lead Paint Fungus (Pycnoporus cinnabarinus) – inedible; shelflike growth on wood; orange pores instead of gills
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Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) – edible; grows in shelflike clusters on wood; yellow-orange color; pores instead of gills
When in doubt, consult an expert mushroom identification guide or experienced forager. It’s always better to be safe than sorry when mushroom hunting. Misidentifications can make you quite sick.
Tips for Harvesting Lobster Mushrooms
Once you find a good patch of lobster mushrooms, follow these tips for responsible harvesting:
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Use a knife to cut mushrooms at the base instead of pulling. This prevents damage to the delicate mycelium.
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Leave some mushrooms behind to spore and grow again next season. Never take the entire flush.
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Double check your finds and only collect what you can positively identify.
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Use breathable baskets or paper bags. Avoid plastic which can cause spoilage.
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Clean any debris off with a soft brush, but don’t wash until ready to cook.
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Store in the refrigerator and use within 5-7 days.
By following these sustainable practices, you’ll help the fungi thrive so more mushrooms grow year after year.
How to Store and Prepare Lobster Mushrooms
Fresh lobster mushrooms don’t last too long, so plan to cook them soon after harvesting. You can store them in a paper bag in the fridge for 5-7 days maximum.
To prep, clean gently with a soft brush or towel to remove any dirt or debris. Trim away any damaged sections. Slice off the very end of the stem which may be gritty.
You can cook lobster mushrooms in many ways to highlight their sweet shellfish essence. Sauteeing in butter is delicious, but they also shine in creamy pastas and risotto. Grill or roast them as well.
Dried lobster mushrooms are a handy way to enjoy their flavor year-round. Rehydrate dried slices by soaking in warm water before adding to recipes. Powdered lobster mushrooms also make flavorful soup stock.
Where to Buy Lobster Mushrooms
If you don’t have luck finding lobster mushrooms locally, check farmer’s markets in late summer and fall. You may be able to buy a haul from foragers and mushroom enthusiasts.
Specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods sometimes carry fresh lobster mushrooms when they are in season too. And local restaurants might have them on the menu as a featured specialty ingredient.
Dried lobster mushrooms are easier to source online or at well-stocked supermarkets. Keep your eyes open around August and September when fresh lobsters start popping up for sale.
Now that you know when and where to find them and how to identify them, you’ll be ready to harvest your own. Bonus: by foraging mindfully, you’ll help keep lobster mushroom populations healthy for the future.
How To Forage For Lobster Mushrooms
Lobster Mushrooms are favorites amongst beginner and expert mushroom hunters alike. For beginners, there’s almost no mushroom that resembles them, making them extremely easy to identify.
They are also relatively widespread and pretty easy to spot.
They are bright red, which makes them stand out from the forest floor like a neon sign at night. You don’t have to look for it over and over again on the forest floor like a truffle dog (like you do for morels and black trumpets!).
This being said, in some habitats, they can be concealed.
Other mushrooms grow through the soil and duff without any problems, but lobster mushrooms often start to get bigger below the soil’s surface. This makes them lift a layer of topsoil or leaf litter along with it. This makes bumps in the topsoil that mushroom hunters call “shrumps” (shroom bump = shrump). Clever, right?).
Often, only a small part of the mushroom is exposed beneath the layer of topsoil above it.
Skilled mushroom hunters know to look at any noticeable bump on the ground in the forest to see what it might hide. Once you find one, don’t move on too quickly. Lobster mushrooms often occur in patches, so keep your eyes peeled for any hidden from plain sight.
If you really want to up your game, you also want to familiarize yourself with their host mushrooms.
Russula brevipes complex, the Short Stemmed Russula, is one of the most important. It is thick, white, and has caps that look like funnels. The Peppery Milk Cap (Lactifluus piperatus) is another interesting host species. When it gets hurt, it leaks white latex that tastes spicy and peppery. Other species in the genera Russula, Lactarius, and Lactifluus can also be hosts.
If you see a lot of these hosts, it means that Lobster Mushrooms may be nearby.
From what I’ve seen, Lobster Mushrooms always bear fruit at the same time as the first flush of their host mushrooms. As the season continues, the parasitized forms become more absent and the uninfected hosts prevail.
This means that if you see a lot of possible hosts but no lobsters, you might want to check that spot earlier the next year.
One interesting thing I’ve noticed about lobsters is that they like to grow in forested areas that aren’t too disturbed, usually in places where the soil is packed down.
They often bear fruit right in the middle of a trail, near campgrounds, on old logging roads, and in other places where people walk or work. I know of a large patch behind some bathrooms at a nearby park. I don’t pick them, but I’ve always wondered if they got some of their food from the ammonia that park visitors left behind.
Where To Find Lobster Mushrooms
Because lobsters are actually mushrooms that have been infected by parasites, they can only be found in places where both the hosts and the parasites are present. The parasite Hypomyces lactiflourum is only known to live in North America, even though host species can be found all over the world.
These hosts, which we discussed earlier, have a mycorrhizal lifestyle.
This means that they only grow in mutual symbiosis with certain tree species. Some mycorrhizal fungi are very specific about the species of tree they attach to, but these mushrooms are more flexible and attach to a wide range of trees.
Oaks, Spruce, Pine, Hemlock, and a wide number of both hardwoods and conifers are included.
Most Lobster Mushrooms in California can be found on the western side of the northern Coast Range, starting in Sonoma County and going up. They mostly associate with conifers such as Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Western Hemlock. It’s possible to find them south of the Bay Area and east of the Coast Range, but they don’t live there very often.
Lobster Mushrooms are relatively abundant in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. They occur both in coastal habitats and along the cascade range. You find them with Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Western Hemlock. You can also find them with Pine in the Canadian Rockies.