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White lion's mane fungus with long hanging spines on hardwood
Choice ediblebeginner-friendly group

Lion's Mane

Hericium erinaceus / Bearded tooth fungus

A white hardwood fungus formed from one cushion of long dangling teeth, without a cap, gills, or stem.

Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY
Compiled by Mushroom Forage Map field deskExpert review pendingContent checked
Identification warning

Supplement claims outpace human evidence. A wild identification and a medicinal claim are separate questions.

Season
Late summer through fall
Habitat
Wounds in living hardwoods and fallen hardwood logs
Underside
The entire body carries hanging white spines
Spore evidence
White

Where it grows

Tracked records and known growing zone

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Squares: where people recorded it, brighter where more people did
Verified records
7,154
People who recorded it
4,925
Most records (northern hemisphere)
Oct–Dec
Records span
2000–2026

Research-grade iNaturalist records, snapshot Aug 27, 2026. The growing zone combines areas where different people have repeatedly verified it. Records show where people looked and found it, not current abundance or permission to gather.

Observation season

When field records occur

Choose a hemisphere · All recorded years; not a current forecast.

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Lookalikes to rule out

Bear's Head Tooth

harmless

Hericium americanum branches repeatedly before producing long teeth; it is an edible relative.

Coral Tooth

harmless

Hericium coralloides forms a delicate branching coral with shorter comb-like teeth.

Identification

Lion's mane forms a single, unbranched white cushion covered with long hanging spines. It has no cap, gills, or conventional stem and grows directly from hardwood. Fresh specimens are pure white and gradually yellow or brown with age.

Its only close lookalikes are other Hericium species, which branch into different shapes and are also generally regarded as edible.

Uses and ecology

Cooked lion's mane has a firm seafood-like texture and can be cultivated on prepared sawdust blocks or kits. Laboratory and animal research on hericenones and erinacines is interesting, but human studies remain small, short, and mixed. The evidence does not support presenting lion's mane as a treatment.

Memorable fact

Wild lion's mane is legally protected in the United Kingdom, while cultivated blocks can fruit on a kitchen counter.

Sources

Never eat a mushroom from this page alone

Confirm identity using the whole specimen, multiple reputable sources, and a qualified local expert. Identified edible species still require appropriate preparation. Cooking does not make a poisonous mushroom safe.

Safety and poison response
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