Sparassis – Cauliflower Mushroom

[30pound-tasty-fish]

I have a hankering for my old friend the cauliflower mushroom. I have seen some posts of people finding some while hunting. I have been mushroom hunting the past 3 weekends around the coast range and found plenty of Chanterelles but no Sparassis. I have heard rumors that these are found mostly near Mt. Hood and are rare on the coast range. Is this true? Does anyone have a suggestion of where I might be able to pick one up?

[letsfish]

I'v e seen a 22lber from the coast Range(Valley of the Giants) and heard of bigger ones on the south coast. Personally, the only one I found this year was in the Coast Range it was mush ball size perhaps bigger. I only found one other a couple of years back but it was to far gone to pick. They are found at the base of firs and hemlocks and are not as prolific as chanterelles.

[Waterfish]

I've found lots of them over the years on the Mt. Hood National Forest (Clackamas River Ranger District and Zigzag Ranger District). Just a week ago I found a grapefruit sized one not far from Clear Lake. I saw one years ago that was over 2' in diameter. They aren't as numerous as many other mushrooms; it seems like I've stumbled across them randomly, whereas I can usually predict the type of forest where I can find chantrelles.

I've heard that they are really good to eat but every one I've found, even the fresh small ones, had worms in them. So I stick to chantrelles.

[death roe]

last year a buddie/co-worker brought in this huge mushroom that he had never seen he knew i was a mushroom nut and could tell him what it was, it was a cauliflower and a wonderful specimen , i hunt mushies in the fall and often get side tracked while deer and elk hunting looking for mushrooms i have never found one in the coast range, he said there were to of them growing beside eachother in a 15 year old reprod patch ,thats all i got and it ate very well but watch for bugs

[Maddie'sDaddy]

My buddy found a nice one the other weekend, about ten inches accross and very fresh, dont know if they tend to grow in bunches or not but it wasnt far from portland where he found it.

Check our thread a couple pages out.




MD

[garyk]

We just found one on Monday - maybe 8 pounds, but we only took 1/3 of it - not 1/10 of a mile from the beach, in a spruce forest, near Netarts.

Now, we harvest chants every year from this location and it's the first time we've ever found a cauliflower...beautiful fresh specimen too!