Coral Tooth
Hericium coralloides
Coral tooth is a branched, white relative of lion's mane that has recently been grown in bags in China; the data is from a single strain study, so treat it as experimental.
Hericium coralloides is a saprotroph with a heavily branched, toothed fruit body. In a 2025 domestication study of a wild strain from the Tibetan Plateau, bags of fermented sawdust, cottonseed hulls, wheat bran, lime and white sugar (about 60% moisture, pH 5.0, 900 g per bag) were sterilised at 121 °C for three hours and inoculated with liquid spawn. They were colonised at 22–25 °C in the dark, given a week to mature, and then opened in a fruiting room at 18–20 °C and 95% humidity. Once primordia appeared, the temperature was raised to 20–23 °C.
Cultivation parameters
Climate
| Colonization temperature | 22–25 °C |
|---|---|
| Overall cultivation temperature | 30 °C |
| Fruiting temperature | 18–23 °C |
| Fruiting humidity | 95% |
| Air / CO₂ notes | In a 2025 bag trial in China, colonization ran at 22–25 °C in the dark; after one extra week of maturation the bags were opened in a fruiting room at 18–20 °C and 95% humidity, and once primordia appeared the temperature was raised to 20–23 °C. On agar the mycelium grew best at 30 °C and pH 7.0 and did not tolerate low temperatures. |
| Cold shock | Not required |
Timing & substrate
| Primary substrate | Fermented sawdust with cottonseed hulls, wheat bran, lime and sugar |
|---|---|
| Substrate options | Fermented wood sawdust, Cottonseed hulls, Wheat bran |
Spawn & substrate preparation
| Substrate moisture | 60% |
|---|
Practical literature-range
| Best methods | Bags with liquid spawn |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Intermediate — Related to lion's mane and grown the same way, but published cultivation data comes from a single recent strain study |
Taxonomy & ecology
| Scientific name | Hericium coralloides |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Comb tooth, Coral tooth fungus |
| Family | Hericiaceae |
| Order | Russulales |
| Genus | Hericium |
| Lifestyle | Saprotroph |
| Cultivation status | Experimental cultivation |
How to grow Coral Tooth, step by step
- Prepare the substrate. Ferment the sawdust, soak cottonseed hulls for 12 hours, then mix with wheat bran, lime and sugar at about 60% moisture and pH 5.0.
- Bag and sterilise. Fill 900 g bags and autoclave at 121 °C for three hours.
- Inoculate and colonise. Add liquid spawn and incubate at 22–25 °C in the dark.
- Mature and open. Give the colonised bags one more week, then open them in a fruiting room at 18–20 °C and 95% humidity.
- Finish fruiting. When primordia appear, raise the temperature to 20–23 °C and harvest the branched fruit bodies.
Growing notes
On agar the mycelium grew best at 30 °C and pH 7.0, preferring fructose and yeast extract, and it did not tolerate low temperatures, so keep the colonisation stage warm. The fruiting bodies in the study were high in protein (15.4 g per 100 g dry weight) and dietary fibre (34.7 g). The paper does not report yields per bag, so we give none. Because every reported strain so far comes from a few regions of China, results with commercial spawn may differ.
Questions about growing Coral Tooth
What temperature does coral tooth need?
A 2025 bag trial colonised at 22–25 °C, fruited at 18–20 °C and 95% humidity, then raised the temperature to 20–23 °C once primordia appeared. On agar the mycelium grew best at 30 °C.
What substrate does coral tooth use?
A mixture of fermented sawdust, cottonseed hulls, wheat bran, lime and white sugar at about 60% moisture and pH 5.0.
Is coral tooth the same as lion's mane?
They are relatives in the genus Hericium. Coral tooth has a branched, coral-like form while lion's mane forms a single mass with hanging spines.
Is coral tooth cultivation established?
Not yet. The 2025 study domesticated a wild strain; it did not report a commercial yield.