”The Lions Mane Mushroom is a large mushroom that, unsurprisingly, resembles a lion’s mane. It’s very rare in the UK and illegal to pick under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which prohibits picking and destroying the fruitbodies. If found, you should notify the British Mycological Society (BMS), as they manage The Red List for Threatened British Fungi.
GeorgeFlavour Fred
We’ve recorded its location with the BMS and spoken to many involved, including Kew & Nature England. We’re leaving it be and hoping to obtain a license next year when and if it fruits again. If it is a native strain, this could lead to its cultivation. In the meantime, we’ve added more large dead beech to the area to create a natural potential habitat.
This is an important topic because we’re seeing invasive species of fungus like the golden oyster mushroom (Pleruotus cintrinopileatus) in North America and the UK. These non-native species disrupt fungal communities and threaten biodiversity. This is because of commercial growing of the non-native strain, which releases spores into natural habitats. It was even being sold at the RHS, outdoors in grow boxes, which many people commented on the risk. Most responsible sellers now only sell it as an indoor strain.
I speculate it’s a native species because it’s growing on a 4-ton substrate, so it must have been there for some time to colonise it enough to fruit. There has also been a lot of sightings this year
You can also see its growing out of either end of the log and the top. It completely blew my mind because I’d never seen it in the wild before. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to see its growth pattern, and updated photos and videos have been included in this post showing the massive fruiting that’s occurred. It’s a beautiful and wonderful thing, and hopefully next year we’ll have a license to continue the story. It’s truly special.
