Hericium erinaceus

Hericium erinaceus (also called Lion's Mane Mushroom, Bearded Tooth Mushroom, Hedgehog Mushroom, Satyr's Beard, Bearded Hedgehog Mushroom, pom pom mushroom, or Bearded Tooth Fungus) is an edible mushroom and medicinal mushroom in the tooth fungus group. It can be identified by its tendency to grow all the spines out from one group (rather than branches), long spines (greater than 1 cm length) and its appearance on hardwoods. Hericium erinaceus can be mistaken for three other species of Hericium which also grow in North America, all of which are popular edibles. In the wild, these mushrooms are common during late summer and fall on hardwoods, particularly American Beech.

As edible mushroom
Hericium erinaceus is a choice edible when young, and the texture of the cooked mushroom is often compared to seafood. It often appears in Chinese vegetarian cuisine to replace pork or lamb. This mushroom is cultivated commercially on logs or sterilized sawdust. It is available fresh or dried in Asian grocery stores.

International names
It is called hóu tóu gū (simplified: 猴头菇; traditional: 猴頭菇; lit. "monkey head mushroom") in Chinese. In Japanese it is called yamabushitake (山伏茸; lit. "mountain hidden mushroom"). In Vietnamese it is called nấm đầu khỉ.

Hericium erinaceus research
In traditional Chinese medicine this mushroom has long been considered a medicinal mushroom and a study on rats in 2005 showed that some compounds in the mushroom, like threitol, D-arabinitol, and palmitic acid may have antioxidant effects, may regulate blood lipid levels and may reduce blood glucose levels.

Ying (1987) reports that pills of this mushroom are used in the treatment of gastric and esophageal carcinoma.

Scientists have investigated this mushroom for possible anti-dementia compounds. Primary research has demonstrated the following.
 * Stimulated animal nerve cells.
 * A double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial showed improved cognitive ability. . Please note that this and the following Mori et al. studies were conducted by a company that sells mushrooms and has a vested interest in their increased sales. (conflict of interest)
 * Stimulated nerve growth factor in an in vitro experiment with human astrocytoma cells.
 * Stimulated myelination in an in vitro experiment.