Key takeaways
- Lion’s Mane lives mostly as mycelium in wood, fruiting in late summer and autumn.
- It grows on mature or dead beech and oak.
- It forms a white, spined mass with no cap or gills.
- It is protected in Britain; all commercial Lion’s Mane is cultivated.
Lion’s Mane is one of the most striking fungi in British woodland, and one of the rarest. This article covers its biology, habitat and how to recognise it.
Biology
Like all fungi, Lion’s Mane spends most of its life as mycelium inside its food source, in this case wood. When conditions are right, usually in late summer and autumn, it produces a fruiting body. Spores are released from the surface of its spines. See The Mushroom Life Cycle Explained.
Habitat
Lion’s Mane grows on mature or dead broadleaved trees, particularly beech and oak, often from wounds or high on the trunk. It is a wood-decay fungus. See Parasitic and Wood-Decaying Fungi Explained.
Identification
- A single rounded, cushion-like mass, often 10–30cm across.
- Covered in long, soft, hanging spines, often several centimetres long.
- White when young, ageing to cream or yellowish-brown.
- No cap and no gills.
Related Hericium species look similar but are more branched.
Protected in Britain
Lion’s Mane is rare in Britain and is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to pick or damage it. If you find one, photograph it and leave it undisturbed. You could also report your sighting to a local recording scheme.
Cultivation
All commercial Lion’s Mane is cultivated, usually on hardwood sawdust substrates in controlled conditions. See Mushroom Substrates Explained.
Our Lion’s Mane tincture is made from UK-grown, cultivated fruiting bodies.