Hericium americanum - Lion's Mane

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Russulales

This very beautiful fungus of damaged hardwood trees is rare in the USA and does not occur in Britain and Ireland, although similar species such as Hericium erinaceus are occasionally found in Britsin.

This is an edible species and highly prized, but their rarity is good reason for not collecting any of the Hericiaceae.

The picture shown on the left is Hericium americanum, and the photograph was taken in the USA by Nigel P Kent. We are most grateful to Nigel for giving us permission to display this splendid image. (We are still impatiently awaiting our first UK sighting of Lion's Mane fungus, and the New Forest is one location where it is known to have occurred in recent years.)

Classification note: Although DNA analysis has confirmed that many tooth fungi (such as the Hedgehog Fungus Hydnum repandum) are properly classified in the order Canthellales, the Lion's Mane is now included in the order Russulales.

This remarkable fungus and other member of the Hericiaceae are distinguished by their icicle-like spines, creating the appearance of a frozen waterfall (or a white lion's mane!).

Identification guide

Description	A mature fruitbody of Erinaceus americanum usually has several branches. White or pale yellow-brown turning darker with age, the fruitbody is attached to the substrate by a very short, broad stipe.
Size	The whole fruitbody can be as big as to 30cm across, although 15 to 20cm is more typical.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive .
Habitat	On dead or dying deciduous trees.
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Hericium americanum is uncommon in the USA and does not occur in Britain and Ireland.
Similar species	Hydnum rufescens and Hydnum repandum also have downward-projecting spines, but they are attached to a smooth-topped cap. Hericium erinaceus usually has a rounded fruitbody; it occurs in the USA, particularly in the southern States, and it is also found in Europe, including Britain, where it is very rare. Hericium coralloides is very rare in the UK; it has a rubbery, coral-like branching fruitbody and is usually associated with beech and ash trees. Hericium cirrhatum is also very rare in the UK; it has shorter spines and a much thinner brachet-like tiered fruitbody.

Reference Sources

Fascinated by Fungi, Pat O'Reilly 2011

Dictionary of the Fungi; Paul M. Kirk, Paul F. Cannon, David W. Minter and J. A. Stalpers; CABI, 2008

Taxonomic history and synonym information on these pages is drawn from many sources but in particular from the British Mycological Society's GB Checklist of Fungi and (for basidiomycetes) on Kew's Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota.