Lion's Mane

Where it grows

Lion’s mane is most often seen on standing or recently fallen mature hardwoods, fruiting from late summer through autumn. It enters through wounds and rots the heartwood, eventually producing dramatic white cushions that can reach the size of a grapefruit and beyond.

How to recognise it

There is no cap or stem — just a single soft white mass attached at one point, with long, downward-hanging spines that look like icicles or a shaggy mane. The colour is pure white in youth, yellowing and finally browning with age. The flesh is springy and smells lightly of the sea.

Edibility & cautions

A choice edible and increasingly cultivated. There are no toxic look-alikes among the toothed fungi; its relatives Hericium coralloides and H. abietinum are also edible. Pick only young, fully white specimens — yellowed flesh becomes bitter.

Culinary use

Tear into pieces and dry-fry in a hot pan to drive off water before adding butter; the texture and faintly sweet flavour are remarkably like crab or scallop.