Bear's Head

Hericium americanum

Available as

Mother cultures (Petri dish)
Grain spawn
Sawdust spawn
Plug spawn

About this strain

A close relative of lion's mane, native to North American forests. Instead of a compact ball it forms branched fruiting bodies with cascades of long white spines hanging from them — like icicles. In flavour and texture it matches lion's mane: delicate, slightly nutty, and reminiscent of seafood when fried.

It is grown just like lion's mane — on sterilised hardwood sawdust blocks with added bran or on hardwood logs inoculated with plugs.

How to grow it

Preparation

Substrate: blocks: hardwood sawdust (fine and coarse) with approx. 20% supplement, e.g. bran, sterilised; outdoors: hardwood logs
Spawn rate: 1–2% on sterilised sawdust

Growing stages

Spawn run (incubation)
Temperature
21–24°C
Duration
14–20 days
Primordia formation
Temperature
shock at approx. 15–16°C, then approx. 20°C
Humidity
95–100%
CO₂
500–700 ppm
Fresh air
5–8 per hour
Light
500–1,000 lx
Fruiting
Temperature
16–22°C
Humidity
90–95%
CO₂
500–1,000 ppm
Fresh air
5–8 per hour
Light
500–1,000 lx

Harvest

Flushes: 2–3
Between flushes: approx. 14 days

Pick when the spines are approx. 0.5–1 cm long, before the mushroom starts to yellow. The mushrooms are delicate and bruise brown easily — handle them gently.

Please note: these growing parameters bring together the experience of practising growers — a starting point, not a guarantee of results. Every grow has its own substrate, climate and equipment, and even small differences can noticeably change the yield. Adjust these values to your own conditions.