A Rare Find at Wesselman Woods: The Lion’s Mane Mushroom
If you have ever walked through the woods, you know the experience can be peaceful, beautiful, and sometimes a little haunting. This past week, Wesselman Woods in Evansville shared one of nature’s strangest little surprises, and it definitely caught people’s attention.
I will give you a few hints:
- It is not endangered in the United States, but spotting one this large is still unusual.
- It is alive but not an animal or a plant.
- It is edible and has well-known medicinal properties.
- It grows both in the wild and through cultivation.
- It feeds on dead vegetation.
- It looks a bit like Cousin It taking a nap on a log.
If you guessed a Lion’s Mane mushroom, you nailed it.
What Wesselman Woods Found on the Trail
Wesselman Woods shared a photo of the discovery along with this caption:
“On the trails, we found a fine specimen of Hericium erinaceus or Lion’s Mane mushroom, also known as bearded tooth fungus or bearded hedgehog. ‘Erinaceus’ means hedgehog in Latin.”…