The lion’s mane mushroom is one of the wildest-looking mushrooms in the whole forest because it doesn’t look like a regular mushroom at all! Instead of having a cap and stem, it is covered in long, white, shaggy strings that hang down and look just like a lion’s fluffy mane. Some people think it looks like a white pom-pom, a fluffy beard, or even a clump of icicles dangling from a tree. Lion’s mane mushrooms grow on the sides of old hardwood trees, especially oak and maple trees, and they can grow to be as big as a basketball!
Lion’s mane mushrooms are not just cool-looking, they are also really good for you! Scientists have discovered that eating lion’s mane might help keep your brain healthy and sharp, which is why some people call it the “smart mushroom.” When you cook lion’s mane, it tastes a bit like crab or lobster, which is pretty wild for a mushroom that grows on a tree. Lion’s mane starts out bright white and fluffy, but as it gets older, it slowly turns yellow and then brown. In some parts of Asia, people have been eating lion’s mane mushrooms for hundreds of years because they believed it could give you the courage and strength of a lion!