Lion's Mane Mushroom Products
The Lion’s Mane Mushroom is elusive, beautiful and has to be one of the most alien looking fungi in the world. Indigo Herbs has heard such good things about the Lion’s Mane that we had to include it into our expanding mushroom powder range. Our Lion’s Mane Mushroom powder is completely pure and unadulterated so that you can gain all the benefits from this amazing fungi.
Although this fungi grows throughout the Northern Hemisphere, it is most popular in Japan and China having been consumed for thousands of years. In China it wasn’t uncommon for royalty and aristocracy to curtail all special fungi for themselves. The traditional belief was that fungi could lengthen the life and also make one more beautiful. The Lion’s Mane specifically is still sold in China today in an extract called ‘Houtou’ and is prescribed for intestinal problems and stomach ulcers.
Throughout both Chinese and Japanese culture the Lion’s Mane has been favoured for an almost seafood like taste that resembles crab or lobster. Others remark that the fungi tastes a little woody, maybe taking on the character of its growing medium.
In Japan the Lion’s Mane has been given the name ‘Yamabushitake’ (the one who lives in the forest) which not only incorporates the fact that this mushroom favours a growing medium of dead wood, but also that it resembles, both in looks and character, a sect of esoteric Buddhist monks called the ‘Yamabushi’. This particular sect are famous for preferring solitude and natural mountainous surroundings to undertake their practices which have been compared to sorcery. There are also other connotations to the name Yamabushi that tell of forest creatures that resemble fairies, ghosts or even aliens. When you look at this mushroom can see why this Japanese name is so apt for the Lion’s Mane since this fungi holds similar characteristics as the esoteric Buddhist monks.
The Lion’s Mane grows on the dead wood of oak, walnut and beech in heavily wooded regions. It loves a certain amount of moisture and light to flourish. Usually from 2-8 inches across, it has white tendrils that hang down from a hard rubbery base. It has a unique look for a fungi hence the name Lion’s Mane.
