Lion's mane (hedgehog mushroom)
Hericium erinaceus
A cascade of white needles with a crab-like texture, also called 'lion's mane', growing on hardwood logs.
Partial shade
Role in permaculture
A recycler of hard wood; occupies the 'dead wood in shade' layer of the forest garden and starts the decomposition of pruning rounds.
Growing this mushroom
- Method
- Hardwood logs (seeded dowels or sawdust)
- Substrate
- Fresh logs of hard hardwoods (beech, oak, maple, birch, hornbeam), diameter ~10-20 cm, cut from living wood 1 to 6 weeks before inoculation, bark intact.
- Where to place it
- Logs arranged in dense, cool shade: under a hedge, against a north wall, in the shade of established trees or a shade structure, where the soil stays humid. A saprophyte of dead wood, with no symbiosis with a plant, the 'association' is the shaded, humid spot.
- Period
- Inoculation in late winter or spring (out of frost); fruiting mainly in late summer and autumn, over several years.
- Level
- Beginner to intermediate
Steps
- Cut healthy hard-hardwood logs and let them rest 1 to 4 weeks.
- Drill holes in a staggered pattern, push in the mycelium dowels (or inject seeded sawdust) and seal with cheesemaker's wax.
- Incubate the stacked logs in shade, on damp ground, during colonisation (on the order of 9 to 18 months).
- Keep humid: fruiting generally occurs from the 2nd season, then every year until the wood is exhausted.
Precautions
Few dangerous confusions: Hericium are distinctive (a mass of pendulous white needles). At advanced maturity, the fruit body yellows and turns bitter.
Sources: Paul Stamets, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, Ten Speed Press (Hericium erinaceus) · Tradd Cotter, Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, Chelsea Green, 2014 · Mori K. et al. (2009), « Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment », Phytotherapy Research 23(3):367-372, DOI 10.1002/ptr.2634 · Fiches d'inoculation de bûches Field & Forest Products / North Spore
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
As with any mushroom new to the diet, test a small quantity (individual intolerance possible); skin or respiratory allergic reactions have been reported. Cook well. For any therapeutic-aimed use, seek professional advice.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers partial shade exposure.
- • Classic companion: Beech.