Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Medium

Diet

Decomposer

Biome

Temperate broadleaf forest

Range

North America Europe Asia

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

A shaggy white fungus made of long, cascading spines instead of gills, growing in a single dangling clump on injured hardwood trees. Its extracts contain compounds that researchers have found stimulate nerve growth factor production.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   spore

   A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2. 2.
   mycelium

   A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3. 3.
   fruiting body

   A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →
• Watch on YouTube →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Fungi

Phylum

Basidiomycota

Class

Agaricomycetes

Order

Russulales

Family

Hericiaceae

Genus

Hericium

Species

Hericium erinaceus