Hericium  Hericium is a genus of edible mushrooms in the family Hericiaceae. Species in this genus are white and fleshy and grow on dead or dying wood; fruiting bodies resemble a mass of fragile icicle-like spines that are suspended from either a branched supporting framework or from a tough, unbranched cushion of tissue. This distinctive structure has earned "Hericium" species a variety of common names—monkey's head, lion's mane, and bear's head are examples. Taxonomically, this genus was previously placed within the order Aphyllophorales, but recent molecular studies now place it in the Russulales. "Hericium" means "hedgehog" in Latin. The genus "Hericium" was originally described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1794. It was mentioned by Elias Magnus Fries in the "Systema Mycologicum" (1822); Fries considered it to be synonymous with the tribe "Merisma" of the genus "Hydnum". In 1825 he recognized "Hericium" as a distinct genus, although not in the same sense as the genus would be known later. It is native to North America. In 2004, the phylogenetic relationships of "Hericium" species were analysed by comparing the rDNA internal transcribed spacer sequences of "H. abietis", "H. alpestre", "H. americanum", "H. coralloides", "H. erinaceum", "H. erinaceus" and "H. laciniatum". This analysis separated "H. erinaceum" from the six other "Hericium" species, and showed that "H. erinaceus", "H. abietis", "H. americanum", and "H. coralloides" are closely related each to other but genetically diverged from "H. alpestre" and "H. laciniatum". Molecular genetic markers have been developed that allow for quick and sensitive identification of "Hericium" species using the polymerase chain reaction. The family Hericiaceae, to which "Hericium" belongs, belongs to the russuloid clade of basidiomycetes, making it phylogenetically related to the Auriscalpiaceae, the Bondarzewiaceae, and the Echinodontiaceae.