Why your Lion's Mane might not be Lion's Mane
By our lab · mycology, lion's mane, investigation, sieni
We've been investigating species claims in the Australian functional mushroom market, and what we found is concerning. At least one major Australian brand appears to be selling Hericium coralloides (Coral Tooth Fungus) rather than true Hericium erinaceus (Lion's Mane).
How we found out
The clue wasn't on the brand's own website — it was buried in ingredient lists on third-party retailer pages. When we checked the fine print, the species listed was H. coralloides, not H. erinaceus. These are different species in the same genus, and the distinction matters.
Why it matters
The hericenones (from fruiting bodies) and erinacines (from mycelium) that make Lion's Mane interesting for neurological research — nerve growth factor stimulation, potential cognitive benefits — are specific compounds studied in H. erinaceus. Whether H. coralloides produces the same compounds at the same concentrations is simply not well established in the literature.
When you pay a premium for Lion's Mane, you should be getting actual Lion's Mane.
How DNA barcoding solves this
ITS barcoding provides unambiguous species-level identification. The ITS sequences of H. erinaceus and H. coralloides are clearly distinct — there's no ambiguity. A single sequencing reaction, costing a few dollars in reagents, can verify exactly what species is in a product.
At our lab, every batch of our Sieni Lion's Mane tincture is verified by ITS barcoding. We know it's H. erinaceus because we've read its DNA.