Lobster Mushrooms- The seafood of the Forest. When, where, and how to find them.

In this video Aaron Hilliard of the Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society takes us on a journey to a local trail to show how easy it is to find Lobster Mushrooms. Lobster mushrooms, AKA Hypomyces lactiflorum, is actually a host mushroom that can be pretty boring, and a parasite that attacks and changes the boring host into a beautiful and amazing edible gourmet mushroom. These can fetch up to $40 lb in American markets and are renowned the world over for their umami seafood-like flavor and beautiful color. They're not hard to find, although we are surprised to see them this early in the year, as they really seem to like the Autumn rains before they start to heavily fruit. This video will help to expose the habitat they grow in and how to spot and identify them. There really are NO LOOKALIKES! well, that's somewhat subjective as everyone's recognition of physical features varies. Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell to see upcoming videos. Here is the link for the foraging knife..amzn.to/3NWgpU1 And here is the foraging bag-- amzn.to/46PiZ76 Make sure to follow on the other platforms and please consider supporting Aaron and what he is doing by going to Patreon and getting a $5 membership!
Facebook - profile.php?...
Instagram - / mushroom.wonderland
Tiktok- / mushroomw0nderland
Patreon- www.patreon.com/user?u=87685882
Rumble- rumble.com/c/c-2321622
[e-mail]
Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society - www.kitsapmushrooms.org

[@miikesternberg6947]

Lots of Lobster mushrooms in my area here in north Idaho. They don't usually show up here until late August, depending on when we get some rain. Love um.

[@PB-jk8bl]

I made a vegetarian lobster chowder with these! Was very tasty and tasted like a seafood chowder! A little dash of Old Bay seasoning brings out the seafood flavor. 🥣

[@RichardPoogerman]

That sounds really good 😋

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Sounds awesome!

[@mschnei4]

Thanks Aaron, I live in Western Washington and have always waited until late August to start lobster hunting, but this video gives me hope to try sooner!

[@crabbingclammingboatcampin4962]

Lobster mushrooms, over a bed of Crabgrass, sounds like a wonderful seafood dish.

[@jeremygold6331]

I just found my first ever lobster mushroom patch outside of Columbia Missouri

[@jessemaichelli1826]

i don't live on the key penn anymore, but still am a KPMS member and super stumped by these lil guys.

[@dr.michaelneely9073]

Thanks for the heads up!! I usually don't start looking this early, but after watching your latest video and since I'm in the South Sound, I took a lunch walk to my usual lobster spot. There they were waiting, perfect condition, and a nice haul of them! Thanks again!

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Awesome!

[@gabrielapetunia1871]

Great video, again! You are just getting so good with your presentation. It is a lot of fun watching you. I live down in Vancouver Washington, and I’m waiting for the rains! I think the lobsters around St. Helens come out at the end of August. Can’t wait for all your videos this upcoming season. Would like to see the dog more. 😊

[@SporeBloom_Game]

absolutely, it's a great chill format compared to the intense pace of most media

[@Wild_Mushrooms_Israel]

I wish we had them here but no one has found them yet, but fungi travel and climates change so maybe one day.

[@easterdm]

I've never found them this early in the summer, especially when it's this dry. That's pretty cool!

[@lifeonfilm65]

I can't wait, its been the best channrltre harvest of my life this year... hopefully more!

[@ScottieD369]

Mush 🍄 luv from Wisconsin! Always love your vids!

[@DustyNonya]

I ate a bunch of these yesterday. My Russula patch usually doesn't pop until later in the year but I'm not about to complain about early harvests :D

[@15000000th]

Just picked about a dozen of these yesterday. I think they're the most beautiful mushroom... and quite tasty too!

[@DrCorvid]

hey, that's it, I'm going out -- greets from northern Vancouver Island...

[@15000000th]

@@DrCorvid Vancouver Island... what an excellent mushroom wonderland

[@DrCorvid]

@@15000000th and you can eat about half the weeds with that.... :)

[@msrockwood]

I found a lobster mushroom a couple of years ago in Texas!! I was so shocked I thought it was too hot here. Since then , I have found several patches of these and those areas are pretty consistent. Not really during the summer here but more in the early spring, fall and winter months. Our climate here is crazy. They are so delicious. It’s too hot right now so I have to watch videos of other people finding the mushrooms.😂 I wish that we had king boletes and morels but we have other beautiful edible boletes, chanterelle and lobsters so I can travel for the others.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Thanks for the comment! Interesting.

[@donnacovel4460]

Never found lobster mushrooms yet but,hopeful! I did find a cauliflower mushroom about the size of my basket! Chanterelles are out in NW Pennsylvania!! Thanks for the info Aaron. Keep on foraging ✌️🍄

[@your_eulogy2688]

Just found an early flush myself. Tasty!

[@kristibalibrera1378]

I had no idea about the ghost pipe omg thank you so so so much. I've been having a hard time finding lobsters in NE indiana but I have found a large patch of ghost pipes and I'm going out there in a little bit too are a look around.

[@genericx2347]

Excellent video.

[@candysummer4005]

Awesome. My dad used to nibble on all types of mushrooms when I was little. Always worried me, lol. Thank you.

[@CrabbyPattydelight]

Excited for the season, their so unique, got a spot i found, should be out looking for morels while i wait

[@Ianrhys1958]

Always a pleasure. Thank you.

[@SporeBloom_Game]

Really appreciate your continued vids and style, keep on goin'!

[@tonystewart7624]

Thank you for another great video.

[@masteryofself9329]

Mushrooms are so fucking cool! Mushrooms and microgreens might keep people from starving in the second great depression

[@tialee4671]

I really like the plant info

[@BigBelgianBoy]

This is so cool, will keep this video in mind for next summer

[@matthewsherman8342]

Bro you struck gold!!!!

[@BlAcKpHrAcK]

1000th like ..better than three neins.

[@chrisatkinson5495]

Thankyou i found some beautiful lobster mushrooms in my usual spot 😊

[@chantalrochon3566]

Great hunt with this video😊 Thank you for the information ❤🎉😊

[@jetcitykitty]

Oh I live in Bremerton!!!

[@susanfarley1332]

Do they grow in SC? In the Low country? It looks like it would be hard to mistake it for any other mushroom.

[@timmynormand8082]

Thanks

[@jetcitykitty]

Oh my God if you're in Washington I have to go through the woods with you sometime especially so I can meet that puppy.

[@PB-jk8bl]

Last fall(2022) I went to my Chantrelle hot spot and found almost ZERO Chants, but it was exploding with lobsters! Is this a normal occurrence? The previous year was the opposite.

[@dalecress9774]

I never have but I should try making some into a mushroom cream soup. Usually I cut them fine and boil a couple pounds with 1 3/4 pounds of peas and carrots and when the vegetables are done I add in a couple of pounds of precooked and chopped fine chicken. Bringing that to a boil I'll ad enough rice to make a hearty soup. Sometimes it comes out like fried rice so I'll add a little more water. It is my favorite thing to do with lobster mushrooms

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Sounds awesome! I just made some lobster mushroom chowder, you should check out the new video if you haven't seen it!

[@markpnw10]

Thats it im going out tomorrow! Heard Matsutake are out!!!

[@mushroomwonderland1]

They are! But I haven't found any yet. A friend of mine has tho.🍄

[@fungionthefly]

Nice! Favorite recipe for these guys?

[@zachariahmiddleton5256]

Good vid, I had no idea lobsters were out right now. I'd be interested in seeing if you're finding any matsutake. I know some people in SW Washington have been getting them but I've had no luck.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I haven't yet, but lots of reports of them. I'm keeping my eyes peeled though!

[@samcarrs]

Eating steak, fresh shiitakes and amanita yum. sautéed with potatoes onions and garlic. It’s a good year for amanita up her in anacortes. Literally right under people noses and they are clueless. Haha

[@Freepatriotism]

🙌

[@ksundar22]

There is mix of cedar trees and doug firs where I visit. Do chanterelles and lobsters grow if there are cedar trees?

[@tbg3111]

Great video Aaron. Two questions. Are there any look alikes to be concerned with? Second, this seems to have similarities to the chanterelles, just obviously deep orange, and a thicker stem, but the gill structure emanating from the stem to the cap seems continuous. Appreciate your thoughts. TY.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Good news with these mushrooms is there really are no look-alikes. That being said, a look-alike can be sort of a subjective term. Some people might think just because they found a fungi-like projection coming out of the ground with a stem and a cap, that they look similar. But in a broad and realistic sense no, there are no look-alikes. I suppose they could sort of look like chanterelle's , because The gills of the lobster mushroom can be quite contorted and sort of resemble the decurrent veins on the chanterelle. The color of the chanterelle, however, is much more gold to sherbert where the lobster mushroom is usually way more vibrant going from orange darker to red and then even to purple. This is a great mushroom for beginner foragers because they're really isn't anything that looks like it!

[@gabrielapetunia1871]

Once you see a lobster mushroom in person, you will know they are different from anything else.

[@mellonsymphonic8658]

I think this mushroom is only found in North America. In your introduction you said that these are available worldwide but I doubt it

[@michaelclancy4509]

Aaron Lobsters are not the best. LOL Thanks for the video always enjoy.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Definitely a matter of opinion. They are my wife's favorite. Tonight we have them sauteed with ramps and butter and reduced with a little beef stock made into a sauce poured over rice. It was absolutely outstanding.

[@jjjjoeyasmr]

Do ghost pipes only live off of russala brevipes?

[@longerused2023]

Any in the UK?

[@monsemaniaa]

Do these grow in Florida?

[@dalecress9774]

Lobsters are just getting going good here in OH 7/28/23. Today I got about 9 pounds. Here when I find them they're near oak trees or in a vacinity where there are young paw paw trees. I've seen some videos of the huge ones that are found in MN. Where are you finding yours? I'm thinking Washington or Oregon

[@kbob707]

At the end of the video he says he's in the PNW. Pacific Northwest.

[@BubuH-cq6km]

🤤🍄

[@missmud2053]

I found 20 pounds of them 😊 .. first time ever finding one and I found a load!

[@boxingstarcmbballer8797]

I find a lot of ghost pipe in a place I find mushrooms . It’s in the Appalachian mtns would that mean we could have lobster mushrooms too? I see tons of Russula mushrooms but never seen a lobster yet

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I think you guys have both red and green lobsters there. And yeah, monotropic plants are a good indicator of fungi!

[@stepankovacovert]

SHRUMP!!!

[@jonathonh517]

I found a spot that had rotten one's in October in Western Washington. It's gotta be to dry right? It's really dry!

[@mushroomwonderland1]

We had a pretty heavy rain a few weeks ago for a day, apparently that was enough. When the surface feels dry it's not necessarily dry underneath, and I'm sure these mushrooms also pull moisture from their host mycorrhizal trees.

[@jessemaichelli1826]

You around Squaxin/Nisqually Lands much? Wanna Hunt? I'd love some help with some spore ID on LBM...I'll be volunteering at the booth for the fair in August...maybe you'll be there? TYSM for all yr Fungi Labor!

[@guyhummel2847]

Can I find these in northwestern Ohio?

[@rancherable]

Can i buy this and plant them myself

[@mushroomwonderland1]

No, they only grow with certain trees and it's really tough to choose which trees they're going to grow with. They have to be foraged wild

[@DoubleADay]

One of chanterelle spots gets lots of lobsters. I'll save them for my sister to dye her home spun wool

[@erynhuntington6129]

Better: save the trimmings from cleaning them up for your sister and eat the rest. 😊

[@spacetravler8461]

I have a killer secret spot. 😊

[@billlumberg5746]

Do they smell similar to oyster mushrooms?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Much more "seafoody." 😂

[@leftyB82]

What grows in Missouri?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Imagine you have quite a few mushrooms in your rainy season, you should get out in the woods, discover what's growing out there and let me know! I've never been to Missouri. But the Midwest is known for good Morel hunting in the spring.

[@Heliosphan33]

These are in Arizona believe it or not

[@ronveach5117]

Thanks Aaron! I'm praying for a great fall production this year since last year was dismal!

[@helenamirian908]

Do they have a poisonous imitator? otherwise they'd be pretty easy to find and identify, right? I just don't trust myself to tell dangerous and safe apart when they have tiny differences.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

There really are no look alikes! Which makes them a great mushroom for beginning foragers. 🍄

[@IsaiahLove777]

You found lobsters?

[@AndrewKowalski-xt7sl]

So I found what I thought lobster mushrooms they smell identical and look like cooked lobster however the gills or what have you. Is a sponge so I guess a bolete is there another mushroom that has a super lobster smell? I mean I asked four people close eyes and thought I had them smell buttery lobster for sure it is not what you are picking now I’m confused and bummed cause I found a bunch

[@Former0311]

Was that poison ivy he was reaching through?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

No, wild BlackBerry. We're pretty fortunate here in the Pacific Northwest that we don't have poison ivy and ticks are super rare. Poison oak does however grow around here though.

[@Former0311]

@@mushroomwonderland1 I was envying what I thought was your immunity to that nasty stuff. I saw some young box elder shoots around my place. It had leaves of three so I thought it was poison oak. My botanist brother clued me in.

[@quebecpatriot1874]

They are an aquired taste...I have a spot for them

[@atrias144]

I don't understand even the most basic aspects of identifying a mushroom habitat. I grew up in several very different states with different habitats and about as precise as I can identify a particular tree is "evergreen" or "has fruit" or some other defining characteristic (from my limited perspective). I have no idea how to start learning what different types of forests in my area are, such that I can identify a place that's likely to contain a particular mushroom. I know that foragers are extremely protective of their finds for good reason, but honestly, these types of "undisclosed location" videos aren't helpful to me. Could you show us a map with an overview of different habitats in the PNW and what defines them? To me, ferns and trees and bushes are everywhere in the PNW. Blackberries can be found everywhere from the coasts to the mountains. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for lobster mushrooms.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

A useful tool is to use iNaturalist to look up other people's signs and you can often find the location exactly of where they found them. In fact I have uploaded exact coordinates for lobster mushrooms on my own Inaturalist account. It is kind of cheating however. Most conifer forests that are old enough have a high potential to support lobster mushrooms. It's when all of those different plants are together, in a mature forest, you're more likely to run across these mushrooms. They are usually found accidentally, just by spending a lot of time in the woods. They're bright orange and easy to spot. Mushroom observer is another website that people post exact locations if that's what you're looking for. They even sell them at the Pike place market if you're interested in just eating them and not foraging them.

[@steiner1942]

I find them, but always sacked with worms😔

[@erynhuntington6129]

Go earlier!

[@Susweca5569]

I harvested forty pounds of lobster mushrooms this season. They're delicious, but they don't taste like lobster.

[@kristinemushkevych9358]

What's your favorite recipe for lobsters?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I think they're really great in stir fry, That's usually how I have cooked them. Or just sauteed lightly in oil or butter. They have a certain crunch to them which is unique. Somebody else in the comments mentioned lobster mushroom vegan chowder. I thought that would be pretty good!

[@DoubleADay]

I didn't really care for them that much when I tried them. Personal preference I suppose

[@chrisatkinson5495]

Also known as Indian pipe

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I think some people find that term outdated or offensive, just saying. Just as easy to say "Ghost pipe."

[@gregdasso227]

It's an interesting mushroom, but, if you like seafood, eat seafood.

[@dericbacon6638]

It looks like your sticking your hands into poison ivy. If your not allergic no bigger, UT if you are I hope you washed after making this video. I think this is worth giving you a follow

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Nah.. thankfully we don't have poison ivy here in Western Washington. Those are wild blackberries. We do have poison oak, but it's even pretty rare. We also don't have ticks except for on a very rare occasion they get on an animal. We're pretty fortunate here for the lack of dangerous things in the forest. We do have yellow jackets that live in the ground though and they are not fun to step on!

[@bryanjacob8399]

I'm a huge supporter of legalizing psilocybin mushrooms and increasing research on them