Another of Nature's Gems Hericium Coralloides (Comb Tooth or Coral Hedgehog), which I came across last Fall.
The Comb Tooth is a tooth fungi(yes it's a classification) that is part of a family of fungi with a variety of members. There are three that are pretty common in North America. The other two being Bears Head Tooth(Hericium americanum) and Lion's Mane(Hericium erinaceus). All three are considered choice mushrooms.
Description
The Comb Tooth has long jagged branches with irregular pointed teeth on both sides of the branch. At the tip of the branch the teeth resemble the shape of a 3D star and looks like coral, hence it's other nick name, Coral Hedgehog. It reminds me of a fractal and is the most delicate of the Hericiaceae Family.
It is pure white when young, as are the spores, but turns yellow to brown as it ages. It is only found on dead or dying hardwoods, so if you find one on a live tree it's not a Comb Tooth. While there are other fungi that look similar, it's unlikely you'll misidentify this one.
It ranges from 4-16 inches in diameter, the one I found being around seven inches and grows both as a single entity or in bunches. I didn't harvest it, because it was past its prime and unfortunately, it didn't return the following season.
Habitat
You are more likely to find this in wooded areas than in your back yard. There will be extreme decay present in the area and it's most common from Sept.-Oct., but can survive through a mild winter. You can find it on every Northern Continent that touches the Temperate Zone.
I found this one on a downed log in a Wildlife Zone with an overflow pond close by.
The year before, I found my first Lion's Mane about 20' away on a neighboring log. Lucky for me it's right across the street from my house.
Edibility and Medicinal Qualities
Hericium coralloides is edible when young and white, having a mild nutty/seafood flavor. It's used as a crab substitute quite convincingly in crab cakes, crab rangoon and any other seafood dish you wish. It's texture is even similar to that of crab.
When it begins to yellow, those areas will have a bitter taste when cooked and it probably won't be palatable.
All three of those mentioned above in the Hericiaceae Family are considered medicinal, but the Lion's Mane has been the most popular subject of study and is being looked at in relation to Alzheimers.
It is thought to promote the growth of new nerves in the brain and is even boasted as being a nootropoic. It has also been found to contain a toxin that is known to treat a specific species of intestinal nematode.
For more information and specific sources for the studies you can visit Healing Mushroom.net.
How to prepare Coral Tooth
Comb Tooth can be fried or baked and like most mushrooms, it must be cooked before consumption. Heat kills the toxins in most fungi and even for morels it's suggested to be cooked first. Only a small minority of people tolerate raw mushrooms, other than those sold in your average grocery store.
As mentioned above, Comb Tooth is a great substitute for seafood, but doesn't fair well in soup. Another way to get the healthy properties through it's use, is to make a broth from it and strain the pulp. It can be frozen to keep it long term.
It's been three years since I first decided to dive into mycology and each new species of fungi I find makes me feel like a child at Christmas time. Before that I just assumed that the only mushroom worth searching for was the Morel and Spring was the best time for mushrooms.
That assumption is so far from accurate. There are many varieties of Choice Mushrooms that can be found in every season of the year. They grow on the ground, at eye level and high in the trees.
Mushroom hunting is not only about finding nutritious edibles, it's about slowing down and taking everything in. Nature gives us everything we need, wherever you live. You only have to look.
Disclaimer
I am not a professional and you should never use a single source for identifying plants, trees or mushrooms for consumption. Nature provides many powerful medicines AND poisons, so always be sure of what you have before consuming anything you find in the wild, especially in the raw form.
Every new experience adds to the respect, wonder and awe I feel when bonding with this living entity we call 🌎.
Please make sure to take the time to get outside and bond with your environment. Your health will thank you at every level of your being and please share your experiences with the world. Personal communal knowledge is beneficial to us all, because this interaction is essential to our evolution.
Thank you and I hope your day unfolds on your terms.
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We have Lion's Mane (locally called Hed Hua Ling - monkey's head mushroom) growing easily and well here in Northern Thailand and Burma. It's high on my list to teach our refugee folks to grow and then dry this (in our solar dehydrators) for encapsulation.
Fascinating to learn more about close fungi family - and totally wanting to lose myself in mycology for several decades. LOL.
Nice😀!
Yeah there's quite a few ways Lion's Mane(Monkey's Head) keeps well. I dehydrated the one I found too. I also turned it into broth then froze it into ice cubes. Since its flavor is quite mild, the ice can be used in tea's and juices to add medicinal value.
I found when cooking it, you need to go light with the seasonings, because it really soaks in the flavors.
Slowly down, observing the natural world, and benefitting from its abundance 🙏💚
I guess if I was still stuck here in mushroom season it wouldn't be so bad. Amazing how many natural nootropics there are.
It is amazing, but you must have missed it where I state, "I too thought there was a mushroom season, when in fact there are many edible and medicinal fungi that grow in every season of the year." 😀
Always be on the look out and even some of the nasty looking one's are edible.
I've been looking, to no avail around here! Honestly - I've had my lens up close and personal in woods, fields, and hedgerows, mark my words!
I fully believe you have.😀
I think we have this coral growing here quite a lot in the forest, though it's always slightly yellow when I find it. This year I'll pay better attention to it and dive deeper into mycology too Lion's Mane is one of my favorite mushrooms to eat! Thanks for this post
You are welcome😀
I found some of this up in Wisconsin on a camping trip and made a nice meal out of it. It has a very mild taste just like lion's mane.
Did it make you feel more intelligent?😂(being a nootropic and all,lol)
Haha it's effects were instant, j/k. I have tried the lion's mane extract from Paul Stamets though I didn't notice any effect. I would guess its more of a preventative to mental decline as you age.
Muted