Fresh Hericium erinaceus - Lions Man Mushroom

Scientific Name: Herecium erinaceous 

Common Names: Lion's mane, Monkey's Head, Sheep's Head, Bear's head, Hedgehog Mushroom, Pom Pom Blanc, Yamabushi-take, Houtou 

Description:  A distinctive white mushroom that forms giant pompoms of solid mushroom flesh, adorned with spore-bearing spines.  Lion's mane is almost as simple to grow as blue oyster, yields well, and is renowned for both its medicinal and culinary properties.  Lion's mane has a mild neutral taste, slowly developing a delicious lobster flavor over it's long life in the fridge.  Lion's mane takes longer to grow compared to oyster mushrooms, and is less substrate adaptive requiring a hardwood substrate, but it will form perfect fruitbodies over a relatively wide range of temperatures.  

Growth Conditions

Petri Dish, Slant, or Liquid Culture
Growth Medium: Malt extract or potato water agar
Temperature: 21 deg C

Spawn Run
Growth Medium:  supplemented hardwood sawdust
Temperature: 21 deg C
Bag Filter Type: "A"

Primordia Formation
Temperature:  10-18 deg C
Humidity: 95-100 %
Time (days): 4-8 days
Light (Lux): 500-1000 lux

Fruit-body Growth
Temperature:  18-24 deg C
Humidity: 85-95 %
Time: 4-10 days
Light: 500-1000 lux

Harvest Hint: With a moderately high humidity primordia will form at the location slits are cut in the bag.  Alternatively the bag can be opened from the top and rolled down for top-fruiting.    Lack of sufficient air inside the bag will cause the mushroom to form a random-branching form instead of the more desirable ordered spherical pom poms.  One strategy is to let this type of lion's mane form in the closed bag, then open the bag and allow it to finish developing into spherical pom poms.  Harvest the mushrooms after the spines start to elongate, but before they are uniformly hanging down ½ inch or more.