Saprobe and weak parasite on conifer deadwood, above all silver fir (Abies alba), in cool, humid montane mixed forest; late summer to November

Edible when young, but rare and legally protected in parts of Europe; best left in place

• ▸ White, coral-like fruit body of many repeatedly forking branches, up to 30 cm or more across, ageing cream to yellowish
• ▸ Long white spines (up to about 20 mm) hanging in tufts from the branch tips, unlike the spines running along the branches of the Ästiger Stachelbart
• ▸ Firm, fleshy white flesh with a mild, pleasant smell and taste
• ▸ Grows on dead wood of conifers, especially silver fir, on standing and fallen trunks and stumps

Confirmed as a species distinct from Hericium coralloides by sexual incompatibility studies in 1983; strongly tied to silver fir and red-listed as threatened across much of Europe.