Kevin Hoover Posted February 15, 2021 Report Share Posted February 15, 2021 Every picture I see of Hericium erinaceus shows straight white teeth. This looks just like it but the teeth branch. Could it be H. americanum ? Or H. coralloides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted February 15, 2021 Report Share Posted February 15, 2021 The photos are a bit blurry. But I think I can say with confidence this is not Hericium erinaceus. As you say, this species feature fairly long rather parallel spines. Is it a Hericium? One species that may be mistaken for Hericium is Postia ptychogaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postia_ptychogaster If this is a Hericium, then I'd say it's H. corrolloides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hericium_coralloides . A bit difficult to determine form the photos, but if I needed to make a guess then I'd say P. ptychogaster... well, assuming that I could actually say this species name :-) Was this growing in a ball/clump on conifer wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Hoover Posted February 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2021 Dave, I’m growing them on masters mix. Spawn is supposed to be lions mane from North Spore. Second bag of spawn, they look the same. Taste somewhat like crab. Other pictures below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Hoover Posted February 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2021 Don’t get me wrong. They taste great, produce quickly and in a with a nice yield. I just want to know exactly what it is I’m growing and eating. I realize this is one problem with common names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted February 16, 2021 Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 There appears to currently be some sort of problem with this website. When I attempted to reply to the last comment, my previous comment appeared. I clicked on a button to "clear content" and the previous comment completely disappeared... can't find it now. Anyway, the comment was that cultivated fungi sometimes have appearance that is different from the wild versions of the same species. Awhile back a friend gave me some dried "Pom Pom Mushrooms" that he purchased in an Asian import grocery store. Looked like probably some type of Hericium. They were pretty good. I broke off chunks/pieces and added to Miso soup. I checked the internet to try to determine the species and it seems the Pom Pom Mushrooms were H. erinaceus. Didn't really look like the H. erinaceus I sometimes find in the woods. Looked through the internet again and the Pom Pom --aka. Monkey Head Mushroom-- is apparently H. erinaceus. Some photos I found look like the ones seen here. My guess is that the cultivated version of H. erinaceus (at least some times) looks quite a bit different than the wild version (at least the wild version found in my region). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Hoover Posted February 16, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 Thanks Dave. That’s my take too. Found one of the labels and it indeed says H. erinacus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Hoover Posted February 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 I’ve talked to North Spore and confirmed that the grain spawn was definitely H. erinacus. They suggested that the problem might be CO2 buildup. Will try to fix that on the next batch. I did discover yesterday that I have two grow bags that have mushrooms that are developing straight spines like you would expect. But the other form is also growing on those bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drspudbear Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Hi Kevin, I recently grew H. Erniacus from a grow kit and got the exact same result as you. I contacted the vendor and they confirmed that it was in fact the correct species. They told me that it requires pretty good airflow and hydration to have that typical look you'd find in nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Hoover Posted March 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 I had mine in shotgun fruiting chambers. When I increased fanning it when I sprayed the chamber, they developed normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayoufrogg Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 Same thing here. Put my north spore spawn in totems and covered mostly with loose plastic with main vent hole. Had some airflow but not a ton. My results were the same as yours. I've since removed the plastic and waiting to see what they do. My assumption is they will fruit normally now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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