Plate IV

Lion's Mane

Hericium erinaceus

Choice edible

A single icicle-white cushion of cascading spines — no cap, no stem.

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1Cascading spines
2Attachment knob

Specimen record

Hymenium: Teeth / spines
Spore print: White
Season: Late summer – fall
Habitat: Hardwood wounds; saprobic/parasitic

Field notes

Unmistakable: a rounded white mass hung with soft, downward spines like a frozen waterfall, fruiting from a wound high on a hardwood. There are no gills, no cap and no toxic look-alike in North America — the other Hericium species are all edible too.

Look-alike risk · low

No dangerous look-alike for a careful forager — the white spore print and the hymenium confirm it. Still, verify every character before eating.

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