
Do all Reishi mushrooms look the same?
Since all reishi mushrooms generally look the same and have similar medicinal benefits, there isn’t any significant benefit to finding out which specific type of reishi mushroom you have. As long as you can tell that it’s a reishi mushroom, that’s good enough.
What is reishi?
When the term “Reishi” is used in literature it is most likely referring to the popular Ganoderma lucidum. My name is Austin Collins. I've dedicated my life to Mushrooms. I believe Mushrooms are the best kept secret when it comes to health and well being.
What is the difference between reishi and lingzhi?
Technically speaking, the official species of reishi is Ganoderma lingzhi. This is the traditional lingzhi mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine. Ganoderma lucidum is another very similar species that is also used in Chinese medicine. It is used almost interchangeably with G. Lingzhi.
What should I look for when buying reishi products?
Some low-quality reishi products may only contain reishi mycelium or grains, which is basically the waste byproduct of growing the actual mushrooms. You want to buy reishi supplements that contain actual fruiting bodies, or the stems and caps of the mushroom.

How do you tell if it is a reishi mushroom?
Reishi Mushroom Identification The mushroom itself is kidney or fan-shaped and has a distinctive red to orange color, and a shiny lacquered finish on the top. It's a polypore, so it lacks gills, but the underside is white (or tan or grey in older specimens) and has pinprick-like dots.
What kind of tree does Reishi mushroom grow on?
Reishi mushrooms prefer to grow on hardwood trees like oak, elm, beech and maple. However some species we discussed above can prefer conifers, particularly hemlock.
How can you tell Ganoderma?
Distinguishing Features Ganoderma tsugae has whitish, rather than brownish flesh (Ganaderma lucidum is brownish). Both species are recognized by its shiny reddish to brownish-orange varnished cap and stem. It has a white margin; concentrially furrowed; surface becomes dull when coated by deposited spores.
Is Ganoderma poisonous?
Conclusion: The result of this study shows that oral administration of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides peptide until the maximum dose of 1200 mg/per kg body weight/day does not cause toxic effects in the liver.
Are all Ganoderma Reishi?
Lacquered bracketLingzhiArtist's bracketHemlock varnish shelfGanoderma tornatumGanoderma sinenseGanoderma/Lower classifications
How long does it take reishi to grow?
However, if you choose to grow reishi on logs, colonization takes a lot longer. When using sawdust spawn to inoculate logs, it takes 9 to 12 months before your reishi begins to fruit. And, if you inoculate logs with plug spawn, it can take 15 to 18 months before you see signs of reishi mushrooms.
How many types of Ganoderma are there?
Lacquered bracketLingzhiArtist's bracketHemlock varnish shelfGanoderma tornatumGanoderma sinenseGanoderma/Lower classifications
Is Ganoderma a parasite?
Ganoderma are widely distributed shelflike or knoblike fungi that feed either as saprotrophs on dead wood or as parasites on the live wood of hardwood trees, conifers, or palms.
How many species of Ganoderma are there?
80 speciesGanoderma is a genus of polypore fungi in the family Ganodermataceae that includes about 80 species, many from tropical regions.
What are the side effects of Ganoderma?
Other potential side effects include:nausea.insomnia.chronic diarrhea.liver toxicity.dryness in the mouth, throat, and nose.itchiness.nosebleeds.bloody stool.
Where does Ganoderma grow?
Ganoderma lucidum is a red-colored species of Ganoderma with a limited distribution in Europe and parts of China, where it grows on decaying hardwood trees. Wild populations have been found in the United States in California and Utah, but were likely introduced anthropogenically and naturalized.
What are the health benefits of Ganoderma?
Ganoderma lucidum has anti-oxidative effects when supplemented. It also has a therapeutic effect on insulin resistance, reduces the risk of prostate cancer, and can help treat a variety of conditions associated with metabolic syndrome. The lingzi mushroom is well known for its anti-cancer effects.
What trees do chicken of the woods grow on?
Planting your Chicken of the Woods logs. Chicken grows on the hardwood tree species of Oaks and Green Ash. Cut healthy, living trees or branches for Chicken cultivation.
What kind of wood does lion's mane grow on?
Lion's mane prefers to grow on sugar maple and American Beech while oyster mushrooms will colonize a variety of hardwoods including cottonwood, box elder, and tulip poplar, to name a few.
What do reishi mushrooms taste like?
Some mushrooms taste great as soon as you cook them: chanterelles, bicolor boletes, lions mane, maitake, etc. Reishis do NOT fall into this category.
How many reishi are there in the US?
As for species endemic to the US, one study found 13 distinct reishi species commonly collected across the country, as follows:
What are the medicinal properties of reishi mushrooms?
Sure, reishi mushrooms have been used as medicine for thousands of years by traditional cultures throughout Asia, but does modern science support the hype?
How long to let reishi mushrooms sit?
Alcohol extraction – Place chopped reishi mushrooms in jar and cover with alcohol (usually vodka). Let sit for two weeks, shaking daily.
What is a reishi cordial?
A sweet and mildly bitter medicinal cordial made with reishi mushrooms and wild-picked mimosa flowers.
How to harvest Reishi mushrooms?
To harvest reishi mushrooms simply pull or cut them off their woody host.
What color are Reishi mushrooms?
As reishi mushrooms mature, the caps will develop concentric rings of red, orange, and white coloration. Exact coloration varies by species and environmental factors.
What color is a hemlock reishi?
Young mushrooms that are rapidly growing may be mostly white as they emerge from the wood. The bright red-orange cap that is characteristic of hemlock reishi will come as they mature.
How big are Reishi mushrooms?
They vary in size from an inch wide to a foot wide and can be as much as 2 inches thick. More commonly, they’ll be 4 to 6 inches wide and 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick.
What is a red belted conk?
Reishi can be confused with other polypore mushrooms, notably the red belted conk (fomitopsis pinicola). The red belted conk is a perennial mushroom, that’s hard and woody, unlike the spongy texture or reishi. Rather than developing new mushrooms each year, it just grows a new ring around the edge.
What is the name of the mushroom that is used in traditional Chinese medicine?
Reishi Mushroom Species. Identifying reishi mushrooms varies a bit from region to region as different species have evolved based on location. Ganoderma lucidum – Is the species used in traditional Chinese medicine.
What is the name of the mushroom that is immortal?
Reishi mushrooms are also known by the names lingzhi, mushroom of immortality, ten-thousand-year mushroom, herb of spiritual potency, varnish shelf and artists conk.
Where do Reishi mushrooms grow?
Reishi grow at the base of trees near the ground and often grow around plants found growing nearby. Be sure that the mushroom you harvest hasn’t grown around any toxic plants, especially poison ivy which can sometimes be found nearby.
Does Reishi mushroom help with blood pressure?
Reishi mushrooms have also been shown to reduce blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood sugar and reduce platelet aggregation that results in blood clots. Its effects on blood sugar were significant enough that it has been successfully used in the treatment of diabetes.
What is Reishi used for?
The reishi [vi] has a long history of medicinal use in Asia and has shown promise in a variety of preliminary studies for uses including cancer treatment, immunomodulation, and diabetes treatment. Those studies likely involved G. lingzhi, as it is commonly cultivated, but some could have included G. sessile.
What is the scientific name for Reishi?
lucidum was the old scientific name for reishi. When the group was split, the G. lucidum name was retained by the European species. The Asian species, reishi proper, is now G. lingzhi, while the two North American species are G. curtisii, and G. sessile. When the term “Reishi” is used in literature it is most likely referring to ...
What is the difference between G. curtisii and G. sessile?
curtsii has small spores and its flesh, seen in cross section, has melanoid bands, whereas G. sessile has larger spores and concentric growth rings in its flesh. G. curtsii usually has a large stem (off to the side of the cap, ...
Where do lingzhi mushrooms grow?
Of course all the mushrooms formerly known as reishi look very much alike, but fortunately they don’t all grow near each other. G. lingzhi is not known to be from North America at all, while G. lucidum is found in Western North America, apparently having been introduced, but only in a few small areas [iv].
Is Reishi a species?
The recent division of the reishi into four separate species throws research on the medicinal application of the reishi into doubt. Most seriously, some of the data attributed to one species might actually belong to another. The practical experience of practitioners and users of reishi products might also involve multiple species. Commercially available reishi products can, in fact, include multiple species, though the Asian reishi, G. lingzhi, is most common [v]. The result is it is difficult to say exactly what any one ganoderma can do. It is likely that the four species are biochemically similar, but not identical.
Is ganoderm a reishi?
The fact that many people refer to all ganodermas as “reishis,” including those that do not closely resemble the Asian medicinal, does not help. Whether G. sessile has the same biochemical properties as the Asian reishi is another question yet again.
Is a sessile ganoderm a ganoderma?
sessile does resemble all the other ganodermas to some extent, but the reddish lacquer-like upper surface and the flexible, not woody, texture separate it from most fairly well. The red-belted conk ( Fomitopsis pinicola) is not a ganoderma, but does superficially resemble one, and it, too, has a reddish upper surface—but it is woody in texture, and its pore surface does not bruise visibly.
How to identify a reishi mushroom?
Reishi can be one of the easiest mushrooms to identify because they often have quite a unique appearance. If you see a shelf mushroom with a deep red body and colors that lighten to orange, yellow and white toward the edges of the cap, you can be confident that you’re looking at a reishi mushroom.
What is the white underside of a Reishi mushroom?
We recommend looking at the underside of your reishi mushrooms before harvesting them. A mushroom that is white underneath is young and will contain the most medicinal compounds. Older reishi mushrooms can be harvested but they will be tougher and more bitter.
What is the name of the mushroom in Chinese medicine?
In traditional Chinese medicine, reishi has several interesting names. It’s referred to as the mushroom of immortality, the king of mushrooms, the soul mushroom, divine mushroom and many other titles.
What is the name of the lingzhi mushroom?
Technically speaking, the official species of reishi is Ganoderma lingzhi . This is the traditional lingzhi mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine.
How long do you boil reishi mushrooms?
Fresh reishi mushrooms will need to be boiled for half an hour to extract all of the medicinal compounds. Dried reishi will need to be boiled for at least an hour or two. The mushroom needs to be thinly sliced for best extraction of the medicinal properties.
Can you tell if a reishi mushroom is good?
Since all reishi mushrooms generally look the same and have similar medicinal benefits, there isn’t any significant benefit to finding out which specific type of reishi mushroom you have. As long as you can tell that it’s a reishi mushroom, that’s good enough.
Can Reishi mushrooms cause liver problems?
In rare cases, reishi may cause liver toxicity. So it should be avoided by people with conditions affecting the liver like cirrhosis or hepatitis. In healthy subjects, a study of taking reishi mushroom extract for four weeks didn’t show any negative effects on the liver or kidneys.
How tall is a Reishi?
Height. Being a bracket fungi, reishi does not develop height. It's cap typically can reach cm in diametre. Reishi typically has a stem; 3 to14 cm long; up to 3 cm thick; it has a varnished appearance and coloured like the cap.
Who provided the Reishi images?
A big thank you goes to my dear friend Colleen Wiebe for providing all the reishi images. Please subscribe to her nature videos at YouTube.
What is the difference between Reishi and Ganoderma tsugae?
As growth continues, the margin may begin to change colour and develop a tough skin that has a shiny lacquered appearance. Ganoderma tsugae has whitish, rather than brownish flesh (Ganaderma lucidum is brownish). Both species are recognized by its shiny reddish to brownish-orange varnished cap and stem. It has a white margin; concentrially furrowed; surface becomes dull when coated by deposited spores. Caps measure 5 to 30 cm.
Is Ganoderma lucidum related to Ganoderma tsugae?
Ganoderma tsugae is closely related to Ganoderma lucidum and the two are virtually indistinguishable from one another on the basis of physical features alone. However, Ganoderma tsugae is partial to conifers, especially hemlocks and firs; Ganoderma lucidum is found on the wood of hardwoods. - click for video -.
jonkotowski
I found this excerpt while trying to positively identify some ganoderma. Here is the link to the page http://www.mushroom-...tification.html
ladyflyfsh
Yes. What kind of trees did you find these on or with? Oak? Just because there may not be poisonous polypores, doesn't make them all safe to eat. Especially for those taking MAO inhibitors, they should not eat polypores and that includes Maitake or hen of the woods.
