Hericium is a parasite-saprophyte species. It is not very common and is endangered. The fruitbody is white or yellowish and hollowed.
The surface is covered by 2-5 cm long spikes hanging down, after which the species got its name. The mature fruitbody is 10-30 cm in diameter. The flesh of the juvenile fruitbody is white, soft and a bit fibrous, but the overmatured mushrooms become yellowish and tough. The odor and taste of the species are not too characteristic.
It is collected in the Far East, but – due to the well developed and relatively easy technology – it is cultivated as well. In Middle Europe it grows from September until November in the nature in the mountainous regions. Hericium is a parasite-saprophyte fungus:
it can be found mainly on dead or living, but weakened oak, beech and hornbeam. After the tree is completely damaged, the mushroom continues to live on the decaying material as a saprophyte. As a white-rot mushroom, it can degrade the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin found in the wood.
Medicinal properties
Traditionally it is used for abdominal and bowel problems. Some descriptions mention anticancer and immunmodulant effects as well. Hericeone and erinacine are the two aromatic molecules responsible for the antibacterial and nematocide properties of the fungus. Fresh fruitbodies can rarely be found on the European markets. Capsules are available and used in China and in Far East.
Cultivation
Some strains of Hericium forms fruitbodies even on petri dishes filled with substrate. These strains are more likely to perform better in vitro, in cultivation. The productivity is lower in case of those strains that develop more aerial hyphae. On the Far East Hericium is cultivated extensively on trunks in larger scale. In Hungary, the extensive technology is not recommended. The substrate has to be pasteurized or sterilized. The sawdust of beech, hornbeam or oak, along with ground wheat straw are ideal substrates, while pine, willow and locust cannot be used. Colonization of pure sawdust substrates is slow, it can even take months, that is why some kind of supplementation is necessary. Grits, cornmeal, or grains can be used for this purpose in 5-15% (dry weight). Another solution is to add more spawn to the substrate, which case the grain (colonized by the mycelium) will act like a supplement. The moisture content of the material than has to be adjusted to 60-70%. The optimal pH is 6.
The substrate is then filled into bags or bottles (each containing 1-3 kg), which are then sealed and sterilized in autoclave. After the substrate cooled, under sterile conditions spawn (grain or sawdust) is added and mixed thoroughly, than the bags or bottles are closed. The optimal temperature for colonization is 25˚C. The process is completed within 3 weeks in a clean, air-conditioned room.
Each bottle and bag has filters on them, which allows gas exchange, so the developing mycelium can get fresh air without losing moisture.
Recommended ambient conditions of monkey head mushroom Substrate
temperature (°C)
Humidity (%) Duration (days) CO2 (ppm)
Spawn run 22-26 70-90 12-20 5.000-40.000
Pinning 10-16 90-95 5-7 500-700
Fruiting 18-24 90-95 5-10 500-1.000
The color of the colonized mixture becomes lighter, but unlike in case of shiitake, where the substrate gets harder, the structure of the Hericium substrate does not change. The next step is to cool the mixture down and to open the caps or seals of the bottles or to
perforate the bags. Due to temperature change the fruitbodies start to form within a few days. Hericium fruitbodies need light during development.
Cellar Hericium cultivation in plastic bags in Budafok, Hungary
The primordia are similar to cauliflowers and can be picked within a week. On 20˚C the fruitbodies develop optimally, but on 25˚C they become yellowish and might be dry, which results in a lower quality.
Ready to pick fruitbodies on plastic bags, placed in a glasshouse
The spikes are visible and white on good quality fruitbodies. The mushroom quickly overmatures and turns yellowish. The mushrooms (formed either in the opening of a bottle or on a perforation of a bag) are carefully separated from the substrate, then they are packed and sold fresh or dried. Every residue has to be removed from the bags and bottles in order to prevent secondary infections. Some producers soak the substrate after the first flush, while others just leave it to rest before the second flush. The yield is 20-50% of the weight of the fresh, supplemented substrate.
Check your knowledge!
1. Which materials are recommended for shaggy mane cultivation?
2. What are the medicinal properties of the almond mushroom?
3. What types of fruitbodies does reishi have?
4. What are the ingredients of the nameko substrate?
5. What are the recommended temperatures in shaggy mane cultivation?
References
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