The fruit bodies typically have short stalks and are attached laterally to the host tree. Mature specimens are easily identified by drooping spines which hang down; the spines may be arranged in clusters or more usually, in rows. Positive identification of immature specimens can be more difficult as they often begin as a single clump, developing their branches as they age. They have no caps and contain spiny amyloid spores and numerous gloeopleurous hyphae filled with oil droplets. The spores are spherical to ellipsoid, smooth or covered with very fine warts. "Hericium" species are found extensively in the northern parts of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia, often growing on old, fallen logs in dark and shaded areas of deciduous and Alpine forests. "Hericium" species are commonly found and consumed in North America and China. The species is readily cultivated. "Hericium" is used in the folk medicine of China and Japan, but there is no high-quality clinical research as of 2020 to indicate that it has any medicinal or biological properties. The genus "Hericium" produces the phytochemicals, erinacines and hericenones, which are cyathane metabolites under basic research.