Gardener builds cage around rare mushroom in England

A historic English garden has recently been home to a mushroom so rare that a gardener erected a cage to protect it from knowledgeable collectors who claim it can combat dementia and cancer.

A volunteer discovered the large shaggy ball in the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall and identified it as a “lion's mane mushroom” (Hericium erinaceus).

They then discovered another specimen of the fungus in the gardens' insect hotel, the “Buggingham Palace”.

The lion's mane mushroom and its effects

Staff were advised by local and national mycology experts about the mushroom and its potential for culinary and medicinal use, as the bearded tooth fungus is none other than the now well-researched lion's mane mushroom.

Lion's mane, found in many popular dietary supplements, contains dozens of beneficial nutrients. Studies on lion's mane have shown that it is particularly beneficial for brain activity due to its amycenone content.

In 2015, Japanese researchers used amycenone to restore healthy cognitive function in three patients with mild neurocognitive disorders resulting from neuromedical treatment, and several other research teams have used lion's mane to restore nerve function in brain-damaged mice.

In addition, lion's mane is frequently touted as a treatment for depression. At least with regard to inflammation-related depression, this claim has been demonstrated in mice poisoned with an endolipopolysaccharide. The LPS induced inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and TNF-A, both of which the fungus suppressed.

In addition, like many medicinal mushroom species, they contain compounds with proven anti-cancer, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. They also contain beta-glucans as the main component of their carbohydrates – the most therapeutically valuable type of dietary fibre known to us.

Protection from foragers and destruction

At the Lost Gardens, the football-sized lion's mane was placed inside a cage to protect it from people who wish to collect the mushroom for these properties.

“Normally you find this fungus in dense woodland where the public cannot see it,” says Toby Davies, the gardens’ wildlife coordinator. “I put the cage up – partly because Buggingham Palace is adjacent to a playground, and partly because it is edible.”

“Nine out of ten people would not know what it is, but the cage is mainly there to stop anyone interfering with it,” he said.

Highest level of protection in England

In the wild, the fungus is so rare in England that it is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, making it illegal to intentionally pick, uproot or destroy it. Schedule 8 represents the highest level of protection. The protection of rare species is equally central in Switzerland – as the debate surrounding endangered wildlife demonstrates.

“Most of the time there are only 15 records of these fungi in the entire country – here we have two in the same area.”