''Hericium erinaceus'', commonly known as lion's mane, ''yamabushitake'', bearded tooth fungus, or bearded hedgehog, is a species of

tooth fungus The hydnoid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota with basidiocarps (fruit bodies) producing spores on pendant, tooth-like or spine-like projections. They are colloquially called tooth fungi. Originally such fungi were referred to the ge ...

. It tends to grow in a single clump with dangling spines longer than . It can be mistaken for other ''

Hericium ''Hericium'' is a genus of edible mushrooms in the family Hericiaceae. Species in this genus are white and fleshy and grow on dead or dying wood; fruiting body, fruiting bodies resemble a mass of fragile icicle-like spines that are suspended fro ...

'' species that grow in the same areas. Native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and Eurasia, the mushrooms are common during late summer and autumn on

hardwoods Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes ...

, particularly

American beech American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

. It is typically considered

saprophytic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

, as it mostly feeds on dead trees. It can also be found on living trees, usually in association with a wound. It is a choice

edible mushroom Edible mushrooms are the fleshy fruit bodies of numerous species of macrofungi (fungi that bear fruiting structures large enough to be seen with the naked eye). Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effect ...

and is used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

, although its alleged medicinal benefits are not reliably proven.

Etymology

Both the Latin genus name and the species name mean 'hedgehog' in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. This is also reflected by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

name, (literally, 'hedgehog-goatee'), and some of its common English names, such as ''bearded hedgehog'' and ''hedgehog mushroom''. It is known in Japan as (

Kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

: ,

Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...

: ) in reference to the

yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhism and Shinto. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or holy persons) of the eighth ...

or mountain

ascetics Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

of the

syncretistic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...

religion known as Shugendo; while in

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

, it is known as () meaning "monkey-head mushroom", and in Europe and the United States as ''lion's mane''.

Description

The

fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

of ''H. erinaceus'' are large, irregular bulbous tubercules. They are in diameter and dominated by crowded, hanging, spore-producing spines, which are long or longer. The hyphal system is

monomitic A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...

, and composed of thin- to thick-walled

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e that are approximately 3–15

μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...

(microns) wide. The hyphae also contain clamped

septa SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

and

gloeoplerous A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

elements (filled with oily, resinous substances), which can come into the

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...

as gloeocystidia. The

basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

are 25–40 μm long and 5–7 μm wide, contain four

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

each and possess a basal clamp. The white amyloid spores measure approximately 5–7 μm in length and 4–5 μm in width. The spore shape is described as subglobose to short ellipsoid and the spore surface is smooth to finely roughened.

Development

It has been observed that ''H. erinaceus'' can fruit intermittently for 20 years on the same dead tree. It is hypothesized that ''H. erinaceus'' can survive for 40 years. The mating system of ''H. erinaceus'' species found in the U.S. was shown to be bifactorially heterothallic. The monokaryotic mycelium growth of ''H. erinaceus'' is slower than

dikaryotic The dikaryon (karyogamy) is a cell nucleus feature that is unique to certain fungi. (The green alga ''Derbesia'' had been long considered an exception, until the heterokaryotic hypothesis was challenged by later studies.) Compatible cell-types ca ...

growth and only a relatively low percentage of monokaryotic cultures yield fruitbodies. Monokaryotic fruitbodies are also smaller than dikaryotic fruitbodies. The monokaryotic mycelium was found to produce fusoid to subglobose

chlamydospore A chlamydospore is the thick-walled large resting spore of several kinds of fungi, including Ascomycota such as '' Candida'', Basidiomycota such as '' Panus'', and various Mortierellales species. It is the life-stage which survives in unfavourab ...

s of 6–8 x 8–10 μm size. These spores can stay viable for more than seven years and be stored under anaerobic conditions. Chlamydospore germination requires 30 to 52 hours, with a germination success rate of 32 to 54%. Spore production is highest at midday, relative to temperature increase and a decrease of relative humidity. Daily trends toward lower relative humidity can favor sporulation, however, levels of relative humidity that are too low do not favor high total spore production.

Mycochemistry

''H. erinaceus'' contains diverse

phytochemical Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The fields of ext ...

s, including

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

s, such as

β-glucan Beta-glucans, β-glucans comprise a group of β-D-glucose polysaccharides (glucans) naturally occurring in the cell walls of cereals, bacteria, and Fungus, fungi, with significantly differing Physical chemistry, physicochemical properties depen ...

, as well as

hericenone Hericenone C-H Hericenones is a class of substituted benzaldehydes that are isolated from fungi in the genus '' Hericium'' (the lion's mane mushrooms) that promote nerve growth factor synthesis ''in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', o ...

s and

erinacine Erinacines are natural substances isolated from the mycelium of ''Hericium erinaceus'' (lion's mane mushroom). They belong to the group of cyathin diterpenoids (erinacines A–K, P, Q, S, U) and are subjects of pharmacological research, which larg ...

s. From its

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

, 77

aroma An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive v ...

and flavor compounds were identified, including

hexadecanoic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Li ...

(26% of total oil composition),

linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula . Both alkene groups () are ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n−6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt or ester of this acid. Linoleic acid is a polyunsat ...

(13%),

phenylacetaldehyde Phenylacetaldehyde is an organic compound used in the synthesis of fragrances and polymers. Phenylacetaldehyde is an aldehyde that consists of acetaldehyde bearing a phenyl substituent; the parent member of the phenylacetaldehyde class of compound ...

(9%) and

benzaldehyde Benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO) is an organic compound consisting of a benzene ring with a formyl substituent. It is among the simplest aromatic aldehydes and one of the most industrially useful. It is a colorless liquid with a characteristic almond-li ...

(3%), and other oils, such as 2-methyl-3-furanthiol, and 2,6-diethylpyrazine. Low concentrations of

ergosterol Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is a mycosterol found in cell membranes of fungi and protozoa, serving many of the same functions that cholesterol serves in animal cells. Because many fungi and protozoa cannot survive without ergostero ...

are present.

Similar species

Similar species in the genus include '' H. americanum'' and '' H. coralloides'', both found in eastern North America. Additional species with a resemblance include '' Donkia pulcherrima'', '' Radulomyces copelandii'' and some within '' Sarcodontia''.

Distribution and habitat

In Europe, the fruit bodies of ''H. erinaceus'' are mainly produced annually from August to November. In North America, they appear from October to February in the west, from July to October in the Mountain states, and from September to February in the east. In the wild, lion's mane is usually associated with a tree wound and causes a white pocket rot. Decayed tissue becomes spongy and eventually disintegrates to form a cavity. The distinctive fruiting bodies (

basidiocarps In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do no ...

) generally appear near the edges of old wounds in autumn. It may be a tree

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

, possibly indicating an

endophytic An endophyte is an endosymbiont, often a bacterium or fungus, that lives within a plant for at least part of its life cycle without causing apparent disease. Endophytes are ubiquitous and have been found in all species of plants studied to date; ...

habitat. ''H. erinaceus'' hosts in North America include maple, ash, oaks, and eucalyptus. In California, lion's mane has been found on

coast live oak ''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is an evergreen live oak native to the California Floristic Province. Live oaks are so-called because they keep living leaves on the tree all year, adding young leaves and sheddi ...

, canyon live oak,

interior live oak ''Quercus wislizeni'', known by the common name interior live oak, is an evergreen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, found in western North America. Description It is a large shrub or tree growing to tall, although where it is common in ...

California black oak ''Quercus kelloggii'', the California black oak or Kellogg oak, is an oak in the red oak section (genus ''Quercus'', section ''Lobatae'', series ''Agrifoliae'') native to western North America. Description ''Quercus kelloggii'' grows from one ...

blue oak ''Quercus douglasii'', known as blue oak, is a species of oak endemic to California, common in the Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It is California's most drought-tolerant deciduous oak, and is a dominant species in the b ...

, and

valley oak ''Quercus lobata'', commonly called the valley oak or roble, is the largest of the California oaks. It is endemic to the state, growing in interior valleys and foothills from Siskiyou to San Diego counties. Deciduous, it requires year-round grou ...

. Lion's mane is able to withstand cold temperatures and frost conditions.

Ecology

Disease

''Brennandania lambi'' (

Acari Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as ea ...

: Pygmephoroidea) is a mite pest of fungi culture in China. This mite can develop and reproduce on the mycelium of ''H. erinaceus''. Farm hygiene and heat treatments are the most important pest management strategies that should be followed to counter this acarus.

Competition with other fungi

''Hericium'' species are good competitors against other wood colonisers. They show the ability to maintain their place on dead wood, also when confronted with secondary colonizers, such as ''

Trametes versicolor ''Trametes versicolor''also known as ''Coriolus versicolor'' and ''Polyporus versicolor''is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Owing to its shape being similar to that of a wild turkey's tail feathers, ''T. versicolor ...

'' and ''

Stereum hirsutum ''Stereum hirsutum'', commonly known as the false turkey tail, hairy stereum, or hairy curtain crust, is a species of fungus and a plant pathogen that infects coniferous and deciduous trees. Description The fuzzy orangish fruiting bodies typical ...

''. ''Hericium erinaceus'' has shown to be slightly more competitive than other fungi tooth species, including '' Creolophus cirrhatus'' and ''H. coralloides''.

Conservation

Although ''H. erinaceus'' is native to Europe, it has been red listed in several European countries due to poor

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ...

and establishment.

Cultivation

In fungi cultivation, fungal strains are analogous to plant varieties in crop breeding. Fungal strains comprise clonal descendants of a single isolation from one fungal colony in a pure culture. The production of ''H. erinaceus'' is widespread in Asia, mostly using extensive production practices on wood logs or stumps. Although there is considerable scientific research about ''Hericium'' spp., they are not commonly industrially produced in the West. Accordingly, there are few commercially available strains in the U.S. or Europe and little or no breeding for higher yield or other favorable traits has occurred. Production trials in Egypt report yields of ''H. erinaceus'' averaging at 165 g per 1 kg medium. In North America, its production occurs only on a small scale. Most of it is intensive indoor production with only a few small outdoor sites where log cultivation is practiced.

Substrate requirements

As a saprophyte that occurs on dead wood, ''H. erinaceus'' requires adequate

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

factors, including suitable carbon and nitrogen sources, a certain pH value and ideal

carbon-to-nitrogen ratio A carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio or C:N ratio) is a stoichiometry, ratio of the mass of carbon to the mass of nitrogen in organic residues. It can, amongst other things, be used in analysing sediments and soil including soil organic matter an ...

. Many different substrates have been used to successfully cultivate this mushroom. Depending on the type of cultivation, the substrate can be either solid (artificial log) or liquid (submerged culture and deep submerged culture). The solid substrate is most commonly a mixture of

sawdust Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling and routing. It is composed of very small chips of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, portable p ...

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

containing different complements that may include

wheat bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a cereal grain consisting of the hard layersthe combined aleurone and pericarpsurrounding the endosperm. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with the germ, it is ...

, wheat

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...

soybean meal Soybean meal is used in food and animal feeds, principally as a protein supplement, but also as a source of metabolizable energy. Typically 1 bushel (i.e. 60 lbs. or 27.2 kg) of soybeans yields 48 lbs. (21.8 kg) of soybean meal. Mos ...

corn meal Maize meal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize. It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but it is not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', Third Editio ...

rice bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a cereal grain consisting of the hard layersthe combined aleurone and pericarpsurrounding the endosperm. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with the germ, it is ...

, and rice straw. For example, ''H. erinaceus'' strains grow on beech sawdust substrate enriched with

(20%),

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

grain (25%),

(7%),

rapeseed Rapeseed (''Brassica napus'' subsp. ''napus''), also known as rape and oilseed rape and canola, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturall ...

meal (10%), or meat- osseous flour (6%). An example of a liquid substrate composition can be

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

for the carbon source, soybean powder, corn powder, and wheat bran powder as a complex nitrogen source. The pH values most suitable for the favorable growth of ''H. erinaceus'' were in the range of 5.0–9.0, with pH 6.0 as optimal.

Climate requirements

''Hericium erinaceus'' requires a humid environment for its growth: 85 to 90% of relative humidity in the air. The incubation temperature most suitable for the

mycelial Mycelium (: mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Its normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anastomosing, hyaline threads. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are fou ...

growth of ''H. erinaceus'' was found to be 25 °C, and the optimum temperature for vegetative growth was 26 °C. ''H. erinaceus'' is unable to grow with a

water potential Water potential is the potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions. Water potential quantifies the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to osmosis, gravity, mechanical pressure and mat ...

lower than -5 Mpa.

Techniques

The artificial cultivation of ''H. erinaceus'' was first reported in China in 1988. It is cultivated using artificial logs, bottles, and polypropylene bags. However, this type of artificial cultivation is not suitable for industrialized production due to its low yield and long cultivation cycles. Submerged culture is a type of artificial cultivation of ''H. erinaceus'' whereby the fungus is grown in a liquid medium. Using this method, a large number of mycelia can be obtained quickly. Bioactive compounds can be sourced from the fruiting bodies, submerged-cultivated mycelial biomass, or liquid-cultivated broth. Growers optimize the culture medium composition to obtain simultaneously high yields of ''H. erinaceus'' mycelial biomass, exopolysaccharides, and

s. Submerged

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

is preferable for the production of mycelial biomass and biologically active metabolites in order to produce a more uniform biomass and

extract An extract (essence) is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures or absolutes or dried and powdered. The aromatic principles of ma ...

products. Growth regulators, such as

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is usually referred to by its ISO common name 2,4-D. It is a systemic herbicide that kills most broadleaf weeds by causing uncontrolled growth, but most gra ...

and

gibberellin Gibberellins (GAs) are plant hormones that regulate various Biological process, developmental processes, including Plant stem, stem elongation, germination, dormancy, flowering, flower development, and leaf and fruit senescence. They are one of th ...

, were observed to have an advantageous effect on spore germination. Other technologies, such as red and green laser light of low intensity, stimulated spore germination as well as the vegetative growth of mycelium.

Argon Argon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas. Argon is the third most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as abu ...

and

helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

s also contributed to the acceleration of fruit body development by 36–51%.

Wild strains

Wild strains of ''Hericium'' spp. can be isolated and cultivated by first gathering fruiting bodies from fallen trees in the natural habitat. The fruiting bodies can then be opened to attain pieces of their inner spore-producing tissue. This tissue is then placed onto

Petri dish A Petri dish (alternatively known as a Petri plate or cell-culture dish) is a shallow transparent lidded dish that biologists use to hold growth medium in which cells can be cultured,R. C. Dubey (2014): ''A Textbook Of Biotechnology For Class- ...

es with

agar Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from " ogonori" and " tengusa". As found in nature, agar is a mixture of two components, t ...

to cultivate fungal colonies at 25 °C. After several transfers to new Petri dishes to verify the purity of the strain, it can be kept at −80 °C for long-term storage.

Uses

Culinary

The edible fruiting bodies are common in

gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...

cooking, with young specimens considered the best. Alongside

shiitake The shiitake (; ''Chinese/black mushroom'' or ''Lentinula edodes'') is a macrofungus native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed around the globe. Taxonomy The fungus was first described scientifically as '' Agaricus edodes'' by ...

(''Lentinus edodes'') and

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

(''Pleurotus ostreatus'') mushrooms, ''H. erinaceus'' is used as a specialty mushroom in recipes. ''H. erinaceus'' fruiting bodies contain 57%

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

s (8% as

dietary fiber Dietary fiber (fibre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical co ...

), 4%

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

, and 22%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

Traditional and contemporary uses

Used in

for centuries, ''H. erinaceus'' is commonly marketed as a dietary supplement, but lacks sufficient

scientific evidence Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. "Discussions about empirical ev ...

for safety or effectiveness and quality can vary due to inconsistent processing and labeling. Though it is a generally safe edible mushroom, its efficacy and specific active compounds remain unconfirmed ''

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, an ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Russulales Chinese edible mushrooms Edible fungi Fungi in cultivation Fungi of Asia Fungi of Europe Fungi of California Fungi of North America Fungi described in 1781 Taxa named by Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard Fungus species