Hericium erinaceus [Lion's Mane]

[spacecowboy]

Lions Mane, Reishi, Shiitake Jar Preparation:

Substrate consisted of 2 parts fine oak sawdust mixed with 1 part wheat bran by volume. Water was added such that it barely dripped from between my fingers when squeezed hard. Jars were loaded snugly with substrate to just below the top threads, and an inner reservoir was made in each using a Sharpie marker (~1/2 inch dia). The inner exposed top of the jar was wiped clean, and a small piece of newspaper, or paper towel, was placed over the inner reservoir opening to keep the contamination barrier from falling in. The jars were then topped off with plain dry sawdust as the contamination barrier, and the lids were screwed on inverted (rubber seal facing up). Jars were sterilized in AA21 pressure cooker at 15psi for 1 hour.
In short, jars were done PF style with sawdust in place of vermiculite, and wheat bran instead of brown rice flour.

Jar Styles:

For Shiitake I used wide mouth pints and ½ pints, and regular mouth ½ pints. I choose these because it would allow for removal of the colonized cakes.
For reishi I used regular mouth pints, and both reg/wide ½ pints. I plan on fruiting directly from the pints, and using the reg/wide ½ pints for casing in pots. Previous experiments showed that reishi did not fruit that well when done as birthed cakes.
For Lions mane I used both reg/wide pints and ½ pints. I wanted to see if the lions mane would fruit better from the jar or birthed from the jar. This is my first attempt at growing lions mane.

Inoculation and Incubation:

Wooden dowel spawn was used to inoculate the jars, 5 dowels per jar. Lids were removed and 4 dowels were inserted through the contamination barrier equally spaced around the rim, with the 5th dowel inserted into the middle. Lids were replaced and screwed down loosely. Jars were incubated in the dark between 78-82 F. Reishi colonized the fastest, and the lions/shiitake colonized at about the same rate.

Grow Chamber:

Chamber was made with 31 gallon black plastic tote. A 33 watt GE bright stick (fluorescent light) was attached to the lid and put on a 24hr on/off timer set for 12hr light cycles. Wet perlite was used to maintain the humidity.

Results:

Shiitake fruited best on pints vs. ½ pints, as have my previous results indicated. The strain used was a Warm Weather strain, vs the Wide Range strain I had been using. Over all results obtained from both were about the same. I liked the cap appearance of the WW strain better than WR strain.
Lions mane did best as pints not birthed from the jar. However, fruit bodies started forming inside one jar around the rim. Cakes that were birthed did not fruit but became contaminated.
Reishi did really good in reg mouth pint jars, conch formations vs. antlers formed. I believe this to be a cause of the high lighting conditions. The ½ pint jars colonized very quickly and I ended up refrigerating them until I was ready to pot them. When the time came I let them acclimate to room temp for a few days. One of the wide mouth ½ pints fruited during this time by working its way through the threads on the jar lid and a small conch formed. The other ½ pints I birthed and potted with 50/50+ casing soil in large drinking cups, still no fruits from them yet. I am hoping that this will simulate an inoculated log that has been buried, a method commonly used by reishi growers.
The pint jars that formed conchs also formed odd pod like fruits that where entirely covered in spore pores. They dropped allot of rust colored spores, visible on the jar and the tops of the pod like fruits. I believe the pod formations occurred as a result of high supplementation of the sawdust. The MMGG states that blob like formations occurred when sawdust was supplemented with high amounts of rice bran, which I believe correlates to the pod formations I observed. One cool feature I liked about the reishi is that it practically dissolves the substrate into nothing, and the mycelium in the jar takes on many odd physical characteristics.

[spacecowboy]

Is Lion's Mane Good for Your Health?: Hericium erinaceus
Writer: Kyu-hyun Lee / Date :2001-09-01 / hits: 382
The World of Hericium erinaceus
Medicinal Effect of Lion's mane
As imaginable from the fact that mushrooms are classified to medicinal mushrooms and general mushrooms from the perspective of consumption, mushrooms are attracting keen interests from many people because of their excellent tastes as well as health strengthening effects. Such interests in mushrooms are reflected in so high prices of medicinal mushrooms, and as seen first in the cases of Reishi(Ganoderma lucidium) and (Coriolus versicolor) and later even in the cases of catapillar mushroom and Mulberry yellow mushroom, mushrooms even bring various vogues, which is very rare for foods. Thus many people have interest in the consumption as well as in the production of mushrooms, and even former urban workers who are not experienced in agriculture make attempts to cultivate mushrooms in pursuit of high value added businesses. What is driving them to do so!
That is medicinal effect of mushrooms.
Let me take as example Ganoderma lucidium which is a medicinal mushroom most widely known to people. The mushroom was probably deeply imprinted in the brains of ordinary people for its medicinal effect or at least, for its function as a strength food. In the recent past, there was a TV program on KBS about cancer patients fighting their diseases. The program showed an investigation on the degree of cure for the patients only left with their remaining life of 3 to 6 months, who were grouped to two; one group relying on dietetic remedies in parallel with modern medicine and the other group relying on the latter only.
The program concluded that the people relying on the both therapies showed the higher degree of cure. Response from audience to the conclusion was positive. Some doctors showed a position that they could not agree to the conclusion since the program's conclusion was not based on any specific clinical data and the cure was not in accordance with prescriptions of any medical doctor. However, governing view is that since they are not in a position to resort to only modern medicine that has yet many rooms to be developed and that modern medicine is not capable of saving their lives, providing them with a complete cure, they would rely on folk therapies.
MushWorld's position is that they would not shrug off various effects of medicinal mushrooms simply because they are argued from the perspective of folk therapy. There are quite a number of papers and articles on effects of the mushroom. However, only part of various effects of various mushrooms has been revealed through scientific verification. In this context, making public through articles mushroom's medicinal effects without thorough and official clinical data is, in a sense, like the way a mountebank does his or her job. However, every medicine was not certified from the start, and many had actually been used by public for their effects before the effects were certified. As such, the mushroom with various medicinal effects might be thought to be also at a similar transitory stage.
Of such mushrooms at the transitory stage, Ganoderma lucidium, Coriolus versicolor, Mulberry yellow and Agaricus have been popular subjects of many studies. Accordingly, although medicinal effects of the mushroom must not be commercially and extravagantly advertised or wrongly propagandized, various folk therapies and academic papers are needed to be made public, which is thought to be helpful for setting a direction of future studies. In this respect, MushWorld has been carrying a series of articles about medicinal effects of various mushrooms since last December. This September issue, setting aside such mushrooms widely known to the general public, tries to look into Lion's mane mushroom whose effects are yet to be scientifically verified.
Lion's mane mushrooms cluster on a lion's mane?
Nobody would not eat mushrooms clustering on a lion's mane.
Scientific name of Lion's mane is Hericium erinaceus, and the mushroom belongs taxonomically to Hericium alpestre genus, Hydnum repandum family, Aphyllophorales order. As seen in the photo, this mushroom is much different in the shape from other mushrooms with a wide cap and stipe thereunder as familiar to us, and has various names across the world. The names include Lion's mane, Monkey's head, Sheep's head, Bear's head, Old man's beard, Hedgehog mushroom, Satyr's beard, Pom pom, Yamabushi in Japanese, and Roe deer's rump in Korean. It would be interesting to pick the most suitable name.
Photo 1. Wild Lion's mane mushroom
The fruiting body is a semi-spherical form with the length of 5 - 25cm, and it forms a tissue like a sparse sponge. It is thickly covered with 1-5cm hairs. When it is young, its color is white, and the color generally becomes yellow as it grows. Its hair tends to droop when growing. Wild Lion's mane mushroom can be seen mostly on fresh logs of broad-lived trees or on dead trees. The mushroom grows across the world including Korea, Japan, China, South East Asia, Europe and North America, with the exception of some tropical regions and frigid regions. Generally, the temperature for the growth of its mycelia and fruiting bodies is 18-24'C, and the temperature for fruiting body formation is 10-16'C. Therefore Korea's fall season would provide a suitable climate.
Somewhat creepy to eat!!
It is said that Lion's mane mushrooms were a quite expensive medicinal mushroom and popular to gourmets in China where the mushrooms were collected out of a deep mountain before cultivated. Lion's mane has been widely known as a medicinal mushroom so far. Fresh Lion's mane mushroom at its shipment stage gives a great difficulty for storage because it contains a large amount of moisture like other kinds of mushrooms. Besides, market demand for the mushroom is also problematic. Accordingly the shipment is mainly in the forms of dried sections, import of canned goods from China or packaged powder going through secondary processing for medicinal use. There are not many growers that are specialized in the cultivation of Lion's mane mushrooms, and only a few mushroom restaurants serve Lion's mane dishes here in Korea.
In addition, as fresh Lion's mane mushrooms are rare for us to buy, the mushrooms are not being used as a popular food in diverse forms. But those who have ever tried the Lion's mane are said to see possibility of the mushroom developing to diverse dishes. Its taste is generally well appreciated while it is true that there is some negative appreciation at the same time. Overall recognition is that it tastes a little bit bitter and is lobster-favored. It gives us a variety of feelings when chewed, depending on degree of its growth. Excessively mature one is rather tough. It is said that Lion's mane with shorter beard is more valued in the market like general mushrooms with their caps less unfoled are preferred by consumers. Thus Lion's mane suits various tastes of many people.
Photo 2. Pie made of Lion's mane mushrooms(USA)
Is it that good for the health?
The biggest problem in most of alternative medicines is scientific verification. If they had been scientifically verified, such classification of alternative medicines would not have been necessary. In addition, if modern medicine had provided perfect cure, such alternative medicines would not have been necessary. Under these circumstances, reality is that many people suffering from diseases rely on various kinds and forms of dietetic remedies. In this context, we will investigate medicinal effects of the Lion's mane mushroom. We tried our best to keep objective and to gather correct information, but we can not but help feeling a limit in the process of verification. We hope for good understanding from our readers in this regard, leaving our investigation results up to our reader's individual judgement.
Table 1. Amount based on dry weight. Read the numbers without units,
puting g/100g at the end.
Compositon Amount
Crude Protein 31.7
Crude Fat 4
ash 9.8
Available Carbohydrate 17.6
Calorie 233kcal/100g
Dietary Fibre 30
Na 1.2
P 1.22
Fe 20.3mg/100g
Ca 1.3mg/100g
K 4.46mg/100g
Ma 123mg/100g
Thiamine 5.33
Riboflavin 3.91
Calciferol 240IU/100g
Nisin 18.3mg/100g
Ergosterol 381mg/100g
Overall, mushrooms have much higher content of protein than other vegetable foods. Lion's mane of the mushrooms has quite high content of protein even when compared with Oyster mushroom(19.5%), Matsutake mushroom(20.1%) and Shiitake mushroom(18.3%) that are enjoyed as food. Protein content of Lion's mane is equivalent to that of bean(about 40%) which is called beef produced in the field. Our investigation was unfortunately limited to appreciation on the overall composition because we could not find out any data on specific composition of amino acids or on compositional change along with degree of growth of the fruiting body.
However, when we compared most of compositions of Lion's mane mushroom with those of other kinds, we found that the composition of Lion's mane is most similiar to that of the Winter mushroom familiar to us. The both kinds of mushrooms have similarity also in temperature condition for cultivation and other growth conditions. Lion's mane has low content of fat, high content of dietary fibre, minerals and vitamin B and D groups.
For what is it good?
Lion's mane mushroom's medicinal effects which are most widely known is those for cranial nerve system diseases, anti-tumor effects that other kinds of mushrooms also have, and effects for digestive system diseases.
Of the cranial nerve system diseases, such well known diseases as dimentia and Alzheimer disease, which usually occur along with senile infirmities are at large due to the decrease or abnormality of neurotransmitters or cerebrovascular occlusion or damage. In this connection, according to Dr. Kawakishi of Shizoka University in Japan, Lion's mane mushroom's fruiting body is said to have Hericenon that stimulates brain cells to help create nerve growth factors.
In addition, a recent research has found in the mycelia of Lion's mane mushroom substances named as Erynacin A~I that stimulate a nerve growth factor to be compounded. Thus, we could expect from Lion's mane mushroom the effects of vitamin B group that critically affects blood and nerve vessels as already known to us, and the effect of a nerve growth factor stimulating substance. In China, Lion's mane mushroom has been traditionally used as a medicine for folk remedies. It is processed in tablets, which have been effective for gastritis and gastric ulcer and are used to cure various diseases of digestive system(Chen 1992, Ying 1987). However, any related research reports or verified data are not available in most cases.
Of medicinal effects of most mushrooms, anti-tumor effect is quite well known. Mushroom's anti-tumor effect is due to a complex polysaccharide centered in Beta-D-glucan. In an experiment where rats were injected with Sarcoma 180, a carcinogen, more than 90% of the rats further injected with this complex polysaccharide were completely cured. This experimental result brought about a sensation.
Typical complex polysaccharides found in medicinal mushrooms are Mesima, which is highly effective medicinal substance extracted from Mulberry yellow mushroom, Lentinan, which made value of Shiitake mushroom appreciated as a medicine as well as a food, and Krestin, which is extracted from Coriolus versicolor mushroom's mycelia. Such complex polysaccharide is also found in Agaricus.
Table 3. Basic Structure of B-(1-3)- D-glucan
As most medicines do not directly cure diseases, these complex polysaccharides do not kill cancerous cells. Human body has a defensive function against external attackers. This function is called immune function. Macrophages, kill cells and lymphocytes fight disease germs for the defense of human body. If these immune cells loose the fight, the disease will get worse. The function of complex polysaccharides is to activate such immune cells. Mesima, which has long been the subject of various researches, increases the activity of lymphocyte by 5 times, and the activities of macrophage and kill cell and antibody function by 2~2.5 times. Experiments at National Mechanical Center and other general hospitals showed that the complex polysaccharides do not have side effects as other anti-tumor medicines usually have, such as depilation, emesis and loss of vigor. Thus the complex polysaccharides displayed their function as a natural antibody substance satisfactorily. According to some sources that handle Lion's mane mushrooms commercially, Lion's mane contains large amount of Beta-D-glucan, which is a representative complex polysaccharide. Every Beta-D-glucan does not have anti-tumor effect.
Some forms of Beta-D-glucans have higher anti-tumor effect. The anti-tumor effect is not exhibited only by a single composition. Accordingly, excellent anti-tumor effect should not be made public only from the fact that the mushroom contains Beta-D-glucan. Active research on Lion's mane mushroom has long been made by Professor Mizno Dakahashi of Shizoka University, Japan, who is called father of Agaricus, and he reported that the composition of Beta-D-glucan of Lion's mane mushroom is similar to that of Agaricus. Similar researches are expected to be made about the mushroom also in Korea in the future when its usefulness begins to be known. From the fact that Lion's mane mushroom has long been used to cure tumors in China, and that there are patients who experienced its effect, it is clear that the mushroom has anti-tumor effect. Presently, active research on Lion's mane mushroom is being made by Professor Mizno Dkahashi of Shizoka University, Japan, who is called father of Agaricus, and similar researches are expected to be made also in Korea depending on the mushroom's usefulness.
Lion's mane mushroom has not yet been widely known. It is not such a thing as can be commonly seen in markets. More study on this mushroom has yet to be made. Further, very few farmers are specialized in the cultivation of this mushroom. Medicinal mushrooms are difficult to be cultivated due to their growth conditions and period, so they are quite highly priced in the market. However, Lion's mane mushroom can be cultivated by way of bottle cultivation and its harvest period is quite short. On this backdrop, it could sell for good price only if consumer recognition is established. In Korea, processing goods from Lion's mane mushroom for medicinal use are quite expensive, which is due to the fact that we rely on imports for the most of processing goods, while, though hard to understand, Korean products are exported back to Japan. We hope that Lion's mane mushroom less widely known compared with other mushrooms in the aspects of consumption and cultivation will be introduced to the general public, conclusively contributing to the development of mushroom industry.

[spacecowboy]

http://mushworld.com/medicine/view.a...d=6830&vid=364
works only if member of www.mushworld.com

[ed. note- see http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=15708 (Hericium erinaceus [Lion's Mane Mushroom, Bearded Tooth Mushroom, Hedgehog Mushroom])

[spacecowboy]

From my latest myco escapade.

[711]

sweet. How long from germ. to harvest? How do they taste?

[mook]

Is than a hard grow. I am new to this and i thought i would like to try that one too. Heard it taste like lobster. Thanks.......Mook

[spacecowboy]

Used plug spawn, and they took a few months. Didn't eat them, I just let them grow to maturity. When they started to show signs of yellowing, I picked and dried them.

[711]

Plug spawn? Is that the stuff that gets put into a bored hole in the substrate.

[spacecowboy]

Grew them modified PF style with sawdust and wheat bran, using plug spawn kinda like you would a syringe. They actually fruited faster than my shiitakes did.

Will post a complete grow log here in the near future.

[Hippie3]

Hericium erinaceus : Lion's Mane Mushroom
Cultivation Difficulty: Moderate
Type: Edible
Substrate: Hardwood chips and sawdust, hardwood logs.
Colonization/Fruiting Temperatures: 70-75F/65-75F

The Lion’s Mane is a member of the unusual teethed fungi, which form tooth-like structures instead of gills. The mature mushrooms look like pink tinted-white pom-poms. This is an aggressive species that spontaneously forms primordia on malt agar and sawdust substrates but may be slow to colonize grain spawn.

The mushroom develops quickly once initiated and can grow from a tiny primordia to a large, ready to harvest mushroom in one week or less.

The Lion’s Mane mushroom is often said to taste somewhat like lobster when cooked with butter.

from sporeworks

[Hippie3]

The Lion's Mane mushroom has long been treasured in Japan and China, both as a culinary delicacy and as an important medicinal mushroom. As a highly prized medicinal mushroom Japanese scientists have studied the Lion's Mane mushroom and have confirmed many diverse and important biological activities.

Recent research indicates that the hot water/alcohol extract of Lion's Mane stimulates the synthesis of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and promotes the process of myelination.* Increased production of NGF may enhance cognitive functions* and help to slow the onset of dementia associated with various neurological conditions.*

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

from commercial website

[Hippie3]

Will post a complete grow log here in the near future.

This is a very nice addition to gourmet grows. You don't see many growing lion's mane. I bet if you post a complete grow log it will be put in the a'chives.

[Hippie3]

Hericeum erinaceus
One of our most striking and otherworldly forest dwellers, the so-called lion's mane grows off injured or recently fallen hardwoods, mostly oak. You can easily distiguish it by its thin tendrils, prodruding from a white rubbery center. It looks a bit like a sea anemone crossed with coral. The flesh is white to off-white, slightly translucent and rubbery. The base can sometimes be very strong and difficult to remove from the host tree without a sharp knife.
H. erinaceus is edible and delicious when young, a similar texture to octopus or squid. It has a subtle citrus-floral flavor, and a musky delicate smell. I recommend cooking it with other subtle flavors. It pairs well with shellfish such as scallops or mollusks in light citrus based sauces, perhaps sautéed with light pearl sauce and shiitake, or chilled in a salad with sesame oil and seaweed.
The specimen pictured [second] is a bit of a puzzle. It was young and fresh, with delicious fragrance and flavor, but had a slightly pinkinsh-buff exterior rather than pure white. The [first] specimen below was too old to eat, and had actually started to deliquesce slightly at the top. By the time H. erinaceus starts turning yellow-tan like this one, it has developed an unpleasant sour taste. Eat it young if you can find it, and enjoy its firm chewiness and subtle sweetness.

from
http://www.rrich.com/msherierin.html

Man I'm hungry!

[alpiner]

erinacius growing invitro in over incubated sawdust/millet spawn jars and a nice bunch of pluroteus cit.

[Hippie3]

got any pix for this, cowboy ?

[SharkieJones]

Yeah I'd love some pics.

[spacecowboy]

Did a complete grow log in the photo gallery forum when I was able to upload my pictures.
http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=5744 (Lions Mane, Reishi, and Shiitake Cultivation)
Sorry for any confusion.

[Hippie3]