REISHI
Numerous myths and poems have been written about Ganoderma (Lingzhi), mentioning people's love, worship, and belief that this medicinal herb possessed mysterious power and the ability to bring good fortune.
The name "Lingzhi" means "spiritual potency" and "essence of immortality".
It has long been used by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to nourish jing (essence), qi (vital energy), and shen (spirit) and if consumed customarily, this mushroom lengthens life and "turns you into one like the immortal who never dies".
Reishi mushrooms are one of the easiest mushrooms to identify for new foragers.
Hemlock Reishi
Common Name:
Ganoderma tsugae
Latin Name:
Ganodermataceae
Family:
Summer
Season:
Hemlock trees, sometimes birch or maple if close to hemlocks
Location:
Fan-shaped with a red to orange colour top with a shiny lacquered finish. Lacks gills on the bottom. Its underside is porous and white, which will bruise brown/tan when pressed.
Identification:
They are polypores that grow on dead and dying trees, that are fan-shaped with a distinctive red to orange colour top with a shiny lacquered finish, and lack gills on the bottom. Its underside is porous and white, which will bruise brown/tan when pressed.
New growth comes in white and gradually changes to red-orange with age. Young mushrooms may appear mostly white as they emerge from the wood, and over time become tougher and caps begin to dull and undersides darken from white to beige-brown.
Only harvest fresh mushrooms with white undersides when they are fresh and most nutrient dense.
These mushrooms vary in size, growing up to a foot wide and 2 inches thick, but more commonly will be 4-6 inches wide and 1/2-1 inch thick.
Here in Ontario, Hemlock Varnish Shelf (Ganoderma tsuge) are the most commonly found species. "Tsugae" translates to "hemlock tree", so these mushrooms are almost always found on hemlocks, but occasionally on birch or maple if they are nearby hemlocks.
Once you find reishi on a log or stump, they will continue to produce there until they've consumed all the wood substrate.
Once harvested, promptly cut into thin strips and dry or tincture fresh with a double extraction technique to capture both water-soluble and alcohol-soluble constituents.
These mushrooms have been found to have immune modulating, liver supportive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-tumour, antioxidant properties, adaptogenic, and cardiotonic properties.
It can be used to calm the body and mind and improve sleep by improving the health of adrenal glands and regulating stress hormones, modulate the immune system to more optimally protect the body from viral and bacterial infections and balance autoimmune challenges, and decrease the signs of aging by combating damaging free radicals.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
antioxidant
anti-aging
anti-inflammatory
anti-tumor
immune modulating
antimicrobial
liver supportive
cardiotonic
adaptogenic