The Big Thicket Field Trip.

The Big Thicket Association is sponsoring the All Taxa Biological Inventory in partnership with the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Jace Stansbury took part in a field trip in the Lance Rosier Unit of the Big Thicket Preserve conducted by the Big Thicket Association. This field trip is part of an ongoing project known as the “All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory” or ATBI. “The end goal of the project is to identify all the living organism within the park, map their distribution throughout the park, and get a general idea of how each species interacts with other species.

Jace collected many species of mushrooms but the one that got the most attention was the Hericium erinaceus.

It has several common names- Lion’s Mane, Monkey Head, Pom-Pom, Bear’s Head Tooth, Old Man’s Beard, and Bearded Tooth. This football-sized edible “toothed” mushroom is found in late summer and fall growing on dead or living hardwoods, especially beech and oak….