Useful fungi of the world: the monkey head fungus

Abstract

The spine fungi, which grow on the trunks, branches and stumps of trees, produce strange but beautiful mushrooms. They belong to a genus called Hericium, and there are a number of species throughout the northern hemisphere. Amongst the best known are the ‘spine face’ (H. cirrhatum (Pers.: Fr.) Nikol.) which is branched with several, shell-shaped caps, and the ‘coral spine fungus’ (H. coralloides (Scop.: Fr.) Pers.) which lacks a cap but is highly branched and covered with small spines, up to 10 mm long. Although all the spine fungi are edible and generally delicious, most attention has been given to that known in China as the ‘monkey head’ (H. erinaceum Bull.: Pers.).