Compared to other biomes like eroded badlands and mushroom islands, lush caves are much more common in a standard generated world in version 1.18. This doesn’t mean that searching for a lush cave won’t be difficult. However, there are certain telltale signs that the biome has generated nearby.
Lush caves are typically found around the height level Y=-56. They also tend to generate under forested areas due to their lush vegetation.
Azalea trees may be one of the best indicators of a lush cave’s presence on the surface. These purple-flowering trees indicate that a lush cave is nearby, as azaleas are rooted directly above lush cave biomes. This means that if players spot an azalea tree, they may want to do some digging or mining to find a lush cave.
Azalea tree root systems include rooted dirt and hanging root blocks, which can be followed all the way down into a lush cave system.
Azaleas are directly fed from the cave systems. This means that if players follow the trees’ roots, they’ll find what they’re looking for. The only exception is when the azalea tree itself generates within the lush cave. However, this is somewhat rare as the cave would require enough space to generate the tree.

