Bear's Head Tooth

Hericium americanum

Edible

Also called bear's head.

The bear's head tooth is a white, branched fungus with long spines hanging in tufts from the ends of its branches. It grows on dead hardwood logs and stumps in eastern North America in late summer and fall.

A white bear's head tooth with branches hung with long, icicle-like spines on a mossy log

The tell

White, branched mass with long spines hanging in tufts from the branch tips.

Field marks

What to look at

Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.

Cap
No true cap. A white, branched mass that yellows with age, with spines hanging in clusters from the branches.
Underside
Spines instead of gills, 0.5 to 1.5 inches long (1 to 4 cm), hanging in tufts at the ends of and along the branches.
Stem
A short, tough base attached to the wood.
Flesh
White and soft to somewhat rubbery. Smell is mild.
Spore print
White.
Size
4 to 12 inches across (10 to 30 cm).

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
Hardwood forests.
Grows on
Dead hardwood logs and stumps, and wounds on living trees, especially beech, oak and maple.
Season
Late summer to fall.
Range
Eastern North America east of the Great Plains.

Lookalikes

What the bear's head tooth gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  1. Compare side by side

  3. Conifer coral hedgehog (Hericium abietis)

    A similar branched Hericium that grows on conifers in western North America.

Edibility

What the field guides say

Edible

Field guides list the bear's head tooth as edible when young and white, with a texture similar to lion's mane. Like other Hericium species it becomes tougher and yellowish with age.

This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.

FAQ

Questions about the bear's head tooth

Is bear's head tooth edible?

Field guides list Hericium americanum as edible when young and white. Guides record no toxic species with the same branched, spined form.

What is the difference between bear's head tooth and lion's mane?

Bear's head tooth is branched, with its long spines hanging in tufts from the branches. Lion's mane is a single unbranched clump of spines.

Where does bear's head tooth grow?

On dead hardwood logs and stumps, and on wounds of living trees, especially beech, oak and maple, in eastern North American forests. It fruits from late summer into fall.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Hericium americanum

    MushroomExpert.com

  2. Hericium americanum

    Fungi Growing on Wood, Gary Emberger (MushroomExpert.com)

  3. Hericium americanum

    Index Fungorum

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