Season clock
Typical first flush Mar 25. Typical last flush Oct 20.
Continental. Soil 10–15 °C starts morels. Fall frost ends hens.
United States · season open
United States — Midwest & Great Lakes
Morel culture is a civic religion. Then summer chickens, fall hens, and giant puffballs in farm country.
Driftless / river hills
Elm, apple, creek bottoms · 200–400 m
UP / North Woods
Birch, hemlock, oak · 200–500 m
Ohio Valley
Oak-hickory · 150–350 m
Prairie edge farms
Puffballs, shaggy manes · 250–450 m
Permits
State forests vary. Many Midwest states restrict or license morel harvest in parks. Always get landowner permission — most ground is private.
Selling
Farmers markets often require a certified ID or wild-mushroom expert. Cottage-food laws rarely cover wild fungi.
Species on this ground
True Morel
Mar 25 → May 25
Morchella spp.
South to north wave. Peak: Apr 15–May 10.
Chicken of the Woods
May 20 → Sep 15
Laetiporus sulphureus / L. conifericola
Two pulses in wet years. Peak: Jun + Sep.
Hen of the Woods / Maitake
Sep 1 → Oct 20
Grifola frondosa
Oak bases after cool nights. Peak: Sep 20–Oct 10.
Giant Puffball
Aug 1 → Oct 5
Calvatia gigantea
Meadows. Peak: Sep.
Lion's Mane
Aug 15 → Oct 20
Hericium erinaceus
Hardwood wounds. Peak: Sep.
Oyster Mushroom
Sep 15 → Nov 15
Pleurotus ostreatus complex
Aspen and cottonwood deadwood after frost. Peak: Oct.